Monday, April 18, 2016

MEMORIES OF AN OLD FRIEND

From second grade to the sixth grade, she was everything I wanted to be.  She wasn't just smart, she was adult-like smart.  And the teachers love that in a kid.  She grew up watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  She wasn't allowed to eat candy, except on Sundays. That was a special treat in her family, on that one day, to get to choose several candy treats. She never bothered to beg for treats during the week, because she knew Sunday would come.  I, on the other hand, would always sneak candy bars in my Raggedy Ann sleeping bag, over to her house whenever I spent the night.  And her mother always seemed to know!!  No matter how quietly we would unwrap those darn things, Mrs. Robinson would call down to us: "Alright Miss Laura, put that candy away this minute!"  Caught once again.
Her name was Kristin Robinson, (I called her Krissy) and she lived just up the street.  We played together all the time. I was in awe of her collection of Kiddles, and her tea parties. Best of all, she shared my love of playing house.  We would spend hours being the mothers of our cherished Baby Tender Love dolls. One day, while we were playing mothers, Krissy looked up proudly, and announced "I'm going to be a pediatrician when I grow up." We were about eight at the time.  I believe my reply was "Whats a pediatrician?" For some reason, I thought it had something to do with being the president. Which by the way, she certainly could have been that too!!  She already knew what a Democrat and a Republican was!  I thought they were spiders.
Krissy was a leader in every way and in every situation that came up.  Any time I was stuck on a homework problem, I just had to call her up.  She would never give me the answer. Not ever.  Instead, she would patiently explain to me how to understand the problem, and find the answer.  That same patience was there when she spent something like three weeks trying to teach me how to do a simple backbend. Or maybe it was a cartwheel.  Probably both. 
I was a real klutz.
Sadly, along came junior high, and I became an obnoxious brat. Krissy went on to make new friends, and plan a successful future. By the 8th grade, I felt lost without her, but was too embarrassed to try to be her friend again, after the way I had acted in 7th grade.  So I did what all obnoxious brats do: I pretended that I didn't care about her, and I networked with other obnoxious brats.
In  high school, I continued my struggle to figure out  who and what I was going to be, while  Krissy had grown into a beautiful, happy, strait A student who knew exactly where she was going, and nothing would get in her way.  We always smiled and said hi to  
each other in the halls, but I'm sure she must've been shaking her head, and thinking "What happened to you Laura? You better get it together before it's too late"
I miss her. All kids need a best friend when they are eight.  And its sad when one of them screws things up later on.
Krissy did grow up to be a pediatrician by the way.  And I still think she would have been a great president as well.

4 comments:

  1. I sent you an email but it didn't go through. I will recheck your email address.
    Thank you for your sweet comments. They made my day. I also needed to hear that as well since I was thinking of maybe stopping to blog. Sometimes I think I am too personal and I share more than I should.
    I read your posts and we have so much in common. I think I am probably ten years older just by hearing the dolls you had as a child.
    How do I follow your blog?
    Thanks again. Hugs

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    1. Thanks for your comments Debby! Don't you dare stop blogging! I love your blog!! You give me a lot of inspiration!
      I am a major beginner at all of this blog stuff, so I'm not sure how to answer your question about how to follow my blog. I will work on this. It's probably just something that I failed to set up when I started.
      Thanks again, and Hugs to you too.

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  2. I found your blog through a comment you left at Meme's Corner this morning. I liked the name of your blog, so I thought I would pop by.

    You are a terrific writer, and this is a lovely story, a very nice tribute to an old friend. I, too, have friendships I wish I hadn't thrown away. I think we all do. Thankfully, with age has come wisdom, and I recognize the need to nurture friendships.

    We are "neighbors" of sorts. I live in Boise.

    Blessings,
    Patti @ Embracing Home

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  3. Patti
    Thank you so much for finding my blog!! It really means a lot to me when people enjoy my writing! I hope you get a chance to read all of my posts, and enjoy them as well.
    Thank you for your sweet comments and for making my day!

    ReplyDelete