As Karie has done, I am attempting to re-connect with childhood friends that I had become pretty close to in my youth, but lost contact with when I moved away. Over the last couple of years I have come back into contact with several people that I haven't seen since Jr. High School! Strangely enough, although many years and a lot of changes and growth have separated us, I find myself feeling almost instantly at ease with these people; almost as if we haven't been apart all of these years.
It's wonderful to hear about their lives, their families, their endeavors. I'm thankful that they are all in relatively good health and still available to talk to!
One such friend is someone my sister and mother probably remember pretty well, as I spent a good deal of time with her, even living as far away from one another as we did. Her name was Lynne. I remember having a great time playing together. I don't remember all of the things we did, but I do remember playing "Capture the Flag" with Lynne and her sisters, late into the evening, until long after dark. And I remember some funny memories, like the time her father took us horseback riding, and on the way he was playing a tape (can't remember if it was cassette or 8-track) but it was blaring "Half the Way" by Crystal Gayle, and I asked him to play it over and over. LOL
One time I spent the night at her house we woke up the following morning and proceeded to make pancakes for everyone, but ended up throwing them away as somehow when we were mixing the batter we had accumulated a large amount of baking soda in some portions of the batter, making the pancakes taste extremely bitter! Since that day I have been very careful to mix my baking soda thoroughly in the dry flour before adding any moisture. LOL
I remember being completely enamored by her Atari -- which was a pretty new TV game system back then. (Boy are we old!) I remember always wanting to play Atari's "Adventure" game when I came over, because we were too poor to even consider getting the game console at our house. Poor Lynne -- she probably got really tired of that.
Myself and Lynne after dinner at my house
Lynne in the 7th grade, I think
Lynne was always a sweet girl; generous to a fault, and always had a ready smile. I don't remember ever having a fight with her, as girls sometimes do at that age. And I find that that part of her personality hasn't changed a whit. She's still a very friendly, giving person. One thing that has changed is her self-confidence. I always thought she was great -- really without any fault I could see, but she tells me that she was very unsure of herself back then. Fortunately, she is a lot more self-assured these days.
Lynne and Scott on their wedding dayLynne is married now, with two kids, a girl and a boy. It was a pleasure getting to know them, as I had the opportunity to do so this last summer. They're a lovely family.
Brett, Scott, Nisse, and LynneWhile I visited Lynne, her sister Michelle, who lives with her daughter across the street from Lynne and her family, came over, as did her parents. It was so great to see everyone!
Lynne's sister, Michelle, on the top left and her daughter (left)
Now that we've reconnected I am saddened that we live far enough away from one another (about 2 hours) that we can't get together on a regular basis. I suspect if our proximity were closer that we would spend a great deal of time together. I am grateful, however, that we are back in communication! :o)
Another friend that I was pretty close to moved to another part of town before we entered Jr. High, but we remained friends and still got together on occasion to spend the night. Ilona was my "horse buddy." Whenever we played, it would invariably involve playing with our Breyer's horse collections, which we'd do for hours and hours. We'd play in our rooms, or we'd carry them to the park. In elementary school we'd pretend we were horses at recess, and both of us would stand in awe of our classmate (Brenda) whose sister sometimes brought her (REAL) horse to her after school so she could ride home. (I was so jealous of that girl!) But poor Ilona, after all of her love of horses, turned out to be allergic to them. (How unfair is that?!)
Ilona is also married, and has a daughter: (I don't have any "old" pictures of us to add)
Ilona and Dennis
Ilona and her daughter, MarenaI'm really glad to be back in contact with Ilona, also. Unfortunately, she lives even further away -- in another state. :o(
Janine is another friend that I've reconnected with. I haven't had a chance, yet, to meet with her or Ilona in person, but I hope to soon! Pictured below are Janine and another Jr. High friend, Cindy.
Cindy and Janine (And Cindy's daughter?) Friends like these are for life, I think. I'm so glad to have them, and to be able to share them with my family and new friends in this blog! :o)
I think my next post will include a few good friends from a little later in life: high school to current.
Until then:
Signing off....
September of 2006 
