Do You Worry About Being Remembered?

     I don't know if it's just part of being a woman or maybe every human feels this way from time to time, but sometimes, out of nowhere, I get into a weird funk. Sometimes it happens when I'm reading a book or when I'm listening to old songs (this is usually what gets me) and I get taken back to a time years ago. Sometimes it happens when I try on a pair of clothes and they no longer fit or when I see a picture of myself and think, "That's not what I look like in the mirror." I can get really down and I start thinking about what it was like in school.

 

     I used to be a very outgoing introvert... I think the terminology might be ambivert, now.... or maybe I'm wrong about that. I was the type of person who liked to go meet people, but after a while, I liked to just be by myself because I overwhelmed myself from trying to get popular. I was the type of person who tried to befriend everyone! I was the person who followed the calling, "Go forth and make disciples" (especially when it was competition time in the youth group.) If I knew you, you probably were getting invited to church all the time.

       I used to be cute and skinny and had many boyfriend prospects. It was nice to know that people liked me and that I could make friends so easily. Perhaps that's why I get into funks now. As a stay-at-home mom, my priorities have changed. My friends are my kids and my family members. Yes, I wonder from time to time if someone thinks about me and has great memories of me just like I do them. It can be discouraging when I think about how large my group of friends were, even though I still had my close group of friends too.

      I thinks its natural though, to separate from each other. We're all at different parts of life, right now. I've been blessed to get married right out of college and have kids right away. At some point, we had to grow up. We went to different colleges because that was what was right for us. We had to move away because we had better opportunities. When I get into my funk and I wonder if I'm thought of often or even on occasion and hope that I'm thought of fondly, I should be glad to have had those experiences at all. We weren't dumped by our friends, time and life just happened and we should be glad that our friends are happy and wish the best for them.

     Here's my challenge for you: If you think of someone from the past, pray for them. Let them know. It's funny how we have this thing called Facebook. Send them a message; a word of encouragement. Don't be shady about it, because that's just weird. Say "Hi, I was thinking about you today. Remember when....?" It might brighten their day, and if they're like me and feeling down about their weight or feeling a little lonely, it can turn a funk day around to a good day. So let's encourage each other, today!

How Did You Meet Your Friends?

     I don't remember how I met my youngest friends in early grade school. I remember that Cody and I liked to play monkey. He was the monkey and I was his owner/trainer. He was my friend all the way up until I moved to a different town in the beginning of 4th grade. Our last day was sad and I had hoped that we would see each other often, but we never did.
   
     When we moved, it took me a little while to make friends. I was heart broken and missed my friend and first crush. (Don't tell him!) But, the move was one of the best things that could have happened to me. I had to ride a bus to and from school and so did Kristen. We met through yarn. Yarn and Beanie Babies was hugely popular in the 90's and Kristen had both. I would watch her make bracelets on the bus and asked her one day if I could try. She showed me how to make some bracelets and we became fast friends. We didn't have class together, but we did share a lunch and 4-square was the best sport, ever!

Sammy (another excellent meet!), Me, Krissy!!!, Laura!!!!, and Brittany!

     We moved again when I started 5th grade. Kristen and I stayed friends and called each other everyday on our parent's landline. Weird huh? I made a few friends in fifth grade, but none of them were really best friends. I was glad when I went to Jr. High in 6th grade. I was reunited with Kristen and got to meet more friends.

     I can't remember if I became friends with Laura in the 6th grade or if we became friends in the 7th. I played the cello and she the viola? It could have been the violin. Any who, we both played an instrument, but we really met on the bus. Our relationship was weird. We beat each other up on the bus, but were also friends. Weird, right?

From the Top: Me, Laura, Krissy, and Kaitlyn

     One of the weirdest ways that I've made friends, however, was the time I went to church camp after watching Harry Potter. I was in love with Sean Biggerstaff who played Oliver Wood. My friend Kristen and Laura were embarrassed of me as I wandered around wearing the shirt that I made with all of his faces and his name plastered onto it. I wish I still had that shirt, but the memory of it will still remain because there was another person at that camp who loved Sean Biggerstaff too. Danielle probably loved him even more than I did and when she saw that shirt, we became fast friends. We walked around the camp ground arm in arm, stalking the band member of the musical group who came to lead worship for the week. He was Scottish and we just needed him to say a few Scottish phrases to appease our fetishes for Scottish men like Sean.

Kristen and Scottish Guy

Andrew and Danielly!

       After her, the weirdest friend meeting was probably with my friend Robert. We were all new students at college and were invited to a mandatory President of the school luncheon at his house. My friend Robert and his roommate were sitting alone and I had a group of friends that I already knew from camp and quizzing. (Being a Nazarene and going to a Nazarene school had it's benefits. You knew a ton of people.) Since I was a peppy person, I invited them over to eat with us. To break the ice, I initiated some games to play. One of them was one I learned in high school. It was called jousting. You linked hands with the person you're playing against and stick out your pointer finger. The gist of the game is to poke the other person before they can poke you. Everything was going great and we were all having a good time until I went to poke Robert and ended up slapping him on the butt (on accident) with my other hand as I went in for the kill. We all had a great laugh and we've been friends ever since.

From the Front: Robert!!! Craig (husband) and some girl that I don't remember. (sorry!)

Edit: My sister wanted me to reshare the moment I met my husband. It was the first couple days of college. My roommate and I had been hanging out a lot and I needed a break. Since I knew a lot of freshman from church get-togethers, I wandered around campus and found a seat on a bench outside of the quad after an unsuccessful search. A few minutes later, Craig and his future roommate, Brandon found me. They thought that I looked lonely so we started to talk. I started a game of would you rather and asked ridiculous questions like: Would you rather get hit by a bus full of nuns or a car full of clowns. Would you rather be set on fire or be frozen. Morbid, weird stuff to ask people you don't know. The last question I asked was, would you rather be told that you have a booger in your nose by a stranger or by a friend. The thought was deep and one of the guys informed the other that a booger was, indeed, hanging from their nose. My husband knew, right from the start, that I was a weird, morbid, dark-humored type of person and still married me.

      The way that we meet strangers and become friends can be weird and awesome. What might seem strange can give you a good story to tell. Don't discredit someone on first impressions because they might surprise you.

     What weird or interesting ways have you met your friends?