Friday: Flashbacks (to High School - AGH!)

Quick sleep update: I'm at 2 nights in a row with little sleep. So much for the great start to the week! I'm hoping to knock out at least 8K (not 8 miles, I'm just not there) tonight or tomorrow morning to take part in the 8 on the 8th Race that Nancy's organizing, but . . . this sleep thing is a priority. Though I'm excited about the Olympic-themed event and don't want to be a party pooper! We'll know soon enough how things pan out . . .

Quick project update: No more progress on the quilt because I'm a bit of a random thinker (like you haven't caught on to that) and tend to bounce from one thing to another. I'm refinishing the chest of drawers that was my dad's as a child . . . passed to me and now passed to Little Sister. In high school we painted it white and did the accent pieces in a bright green. Since I'm all about keeping things simple, I'm just touching up the white and changing the knobs and trim from green to a lovely purple. Little Sister is a fan of purple (which is GREAT because I'm not too into pink), so it should work out well with some yellow walls and the scrap quilt. Photos to come when I locate the camera.

And now . . . onto the flashback!

I mentioned awhile back that I've been feeling sentimental since jumping into the crazy world of Facebook. I moved before my senior year of high school from a close-knit Air Force community in IL to a more rural school in GA. Talk about a big change! Anyhow . . . Facebook has "reunited" me with a number of my IL high school friends and now I'm eyeball deep in reminiscing (the good, the bad and the ugly - all of it!).

In the midst of all of this wading through memories, I recently discovered that a good friend of mine from those bygone days now lives in Seattle - just a 30-60 minute drive from us (depending upon traffic - you know how THAT goes). We're working out a time for him to come out to the country to meet my "new family" - i.e. husband & kids - to have dinner and enjoy one of those concerts in the park that we love so much. The plans have fallen through a few times, but there are a few summer weeks remaining, so keep your fingers crossed that we can get something to work. I haven't seen him since I went back to IL for a friend's memorial service 6 years ago - so timing wasn't right then for much chit-chat and story swapping.

I chose to finally blog on a Friday because one of my classmates from high school posted a picture this week of the first day of senior year on his Facebook page. Picture this: a giant (12 feet tall, perhaps) 96 with 5 guys in matching "Class of '96" t-shirts (ironed, no less) with khaki shorts or jean shorts ("jorts" as they laugh about them now) lined up in front of it. Their poses so clearly radiate their personalities:

- Guy 1: Tall, beaming smile, arms folded across chest, black sunglasses (this one is now Chief Resident of Orthopedic Surgery at a hospital in IL)
- Guy 2: Tall, stoic face, hand on Guy 1's shoulder (this one was a Center for the football team and went on to play rugby at Auburn, if I'm not mistaken - you didn't want to mess with him, though if you looked hard enough you could locate his nougat center, it was just well-protected)
- Guy 3: tucked behind Guy 2 & Guy 4, peeking out with arms around #2 & #4 (this is one who was always around but only had something to say if it truly mattered - thoughtful and to the point)
- Guy 4: looking straight at the camera as if it was waiting for his punchline (joker all around, this one)
- Guy 5: one leg crossed over the other, one hand on Guy 4's shoulder, confident smirk (a favorite with the ladies, though never one to commit - this one is now a pilot in China)

I can't vouch for #3 & 4 as to whether the personalities are still a match, but from what I can tell, the others are still dead on. Sure, they're older and most-likely a bit wiser (I hope!), possibly more mature (true with Guy 5 for sure), and scattered across the world, but I'm willing to bet they are very much the same as they were on that sunny first day of school nearly 13 years ago.

It leaves me wondering what a photo on my first day of senior year would reveal about me. Would it be as accurate a reflection since I was diving head-first into a year at a new school? If we could rewind even further to the first year of junior year when I was more "in my element" what would that photo have shown? I'll have to go dig something up to see . . . and if I'm feeling daring and can figure out the scanner, I'll post it next Friday. Stay tuned.

Happy 8 on the 8th . . . happy running . . . happy sleeping . . . and enjoy your weekend!