I met my BFF 29 years ago

My Girl is going to kindergarten in the fall. Go back 29 years in my life to her current age and this would be the summer I met my best friend to this day - Jenny, now refered to as Jen.

I remember it pretty well.

There were a good bit of kids to play with in my neighborhood (unlike where I live now) and I remember being able to play freely up and down my street at the meer age of five. One summer day one of the other neighborhood kids informed us that a new girl just moved in. I was of course very curious as the boys in our hood out numbered the girls.

I don't remember how we ended up meeting but I do remember finding out she was my age and starting kindergarten in the fall like me. I then invited her over to play on our swingset. It was there that we decided to be best friends. And we still are to this day.

So it makes me sad to think that my daughter is at that same point in her life already. Currently, her best friend Ava has moved to another state far away. They met at age three. I wonder if this friendship will survive the distance between them. They talk of each other often despite the fact that they rarely see each other.

Regardless, I can only hope she finds a best friend as good as mine!

I was voted most likely to become President.

Yup. You read that right. In high school, I was voted most likely to become President along with my buddy Rick Hubler.

I was thumbing through my senior yearbook. (Ok. I admit, I had it out to identify people on MySpace.com that I can't seem to remember!) As I am flipping I see a picture of Rick and I standing there and read the caption and laugh out loud! I had forgotten all about that. I show it to hubby and he gets a good laugh too. Me, the person who has had to learn all about politics from my hubby since we've been married. Me, the person who never knows who to vote for and struggles to educate herself every election. Me, the stay-at-home mom living in Louisiana. How did I win that vote?

Looking back, I was very involved in just about everything in high school - sports, clubs, musicals, plays, committees, class vice-president (Rick was president) etc, etc. I was also. . . um, well . . . a nerd, I guess. Not a super geeky nerd and at the time I didn't think I was a nerd, but in retrospect, I was. (I already admitted in an earlier post that I hung out a lot at the library as a teen.)My hubby says I had the "homework gene" which he claims he was born without and hopefully our kids will inherit it from me. I also graduated #7 in my class of 140. I was in all the advanced college prep classes. But, if you asked me back then, I thought I was pretty popular. I also thought I was popular enough to be on the homecoming court, but I wasn't. All my close friends made it up there, but I didn't. I was disappointed. But, I also had my first lesson on how others perceived me. And that was not the way I perceived myself.

I guess my point is that it is interesting how you see yourself and how others see you. I guess I was quite a leader back then. I remember I also was told I smiled a lot. I don't get that comment anymore. Hmm. Do we really change all that much as we become adults? Why don't I smile as much? Maybe I am just not as naive. Maybe I know too much about the world and people and have much more stress. Was I happier then? I mean, I fell happy now. Maybe I am taking life too seriously! My mom even told me once I didn't have fun as easily as I did before. Man, did that stick with me. I think I am a fun person. I also think I am funny. I mean at times. I like to be a smart ass sometimes and do silly faces to make my kids laugh and tell funny stories about my life or things that have happened in the past. I mean, I do have a lot of them to tell . . .

I look at old classmates on MySpace and think they seem the same to me. But are they? Do they think I am the same? I think I have changed a lot since high school, but maybe they don't think so. Maybe they look at my pics and read my profile and say, "Yup, there she is just as I would expect."

One of the benefits of moving away from your hometown is that you can reinvent yourself so to speak. You can start fresh - blank slate. No one knows you or has any preconceived ideas about you. So you get to make yourself who you want to be. I did this in college. I was so ready to leave high school and all of its drama that I chopped off my hair after graduation and decided I was starting over. I went to college and refused to become involved in any sports, clubs, etc. I wanted everything to be my choice, my time, my terms, my call. I was ditching all commitments. Commitments meant stress, time away from what I really wanted to be doing and lots of crap from other people. And you know what? College was AWESOME!

So I moved down here to LA and got involved. And you know what? I soon discovered it was time to drop the damn clubs and commitments. My life was becoming cluttered with stress caused by other people. I hated the "Politics" of clubs and committees. It took me a few trys to learn my lesson, but I finally got out. And now it is my time, my terms, my call. And any stress in my life is only going to be caused by myself and my family. (Mostly by my family - He He! - that includes hubby, kids, parents and siblings on both sides. So don't any of you go getting your britches in a tizzy!) But, my family is MY family and I love them. So they can cause stress. Other people causing me stress can take a hike. I don't need them!

Ok. So what the hell does all this have to do with me being voted "Most likely to become president." Well, good question, because it appears I am rambling . . .

What I am getting at is there is no way in hell I would ever run for political office. (ok. I've learned to Never say Never.) I mean, it is highly unlikely. As I grow older I am becoming more and more of a private person. I want to hold those that are important to me close and hide from the rest.I have no desire to be involved in any sort of political committee no matter how small or non-political. I have no desire to air my dirty laundry for the benefit of holding a public office.

I mean does the whole world need to know that I once skinny-dipped in broad daylight with my best friend in a man-made lake in the middle of a condominum complex?

I think not . . .

A vacation by myself!

Yup! You read that correctly. This momma is taking a vacation by herself. No, that does not mean me and the kids. That means JUST ME! Alone, on a plane for the first time in . . . oh say . . . 5 years? Maybe more. The last time I traveled alone on a plane was when I flew to Atlanta and Chicago to do user testing for a startup web company I was working for. I think that was 2001 - ok 6 years ago. I might actually be able to read or sleep!

I am flying to Florida to visit my best friend for 5 days. She is taking off work and on one day we are hitting the beach (just her and I) while her kids are in school. All day on the beach by ourselves! Whooeee! No watching kids, playing with kids, feeding kids, wrangling kids. NOthing. Just us with our suntan lotion, beach chairs, cooler and lots of conversation and sunbathing!

So you are probably wondering about my kids. Never fear. This was my hubby's idea and he will be spending 5 fun-filled days with our 2 kids under 5 by himself. He has never done it before but claims if I can do it, he can do it. It should seem that way. I expect several phone calls. ;-)

I am going to try to get him to cover my blog so WE ALL can read about his days with the kids. Should be interesting!