Friday as I drove home from work, I called my mom to see how her day had gone plus I have to admit I just missed her and wanted to hear her voice. Before I knew it I was pulling into my driveway and my mom left me with a ridiculous idea, "You should put on your old cardigan and head over to your school carnival...I can get it out of the closet if you like." Now we all know she was joking and it sounded like a really lame idea, however I found myself actually considering it. Not the cardigan however, but the idea of going back to my elementary school where I spent 9 years of my life seemed very appealing. Oddly enough I had plans with my best friend Lorrie the next day who I met in elementary school....how perfect for us to take this little trip down memory lane. I sent her a quick text just throwing it out there and without hesitation she agreed it would be a good time. So I then sent a text to my sister in law and said, "Shelly (my alter-ego during party time) is insisting we go to the St. Columban School Festival!!!!" After joking back and forth, I not only had convinced my parents and my best friend to go, but also my brother and his wife who also are Colt Alumni.
So we headed over to the carnival, not quite sure what to expect. It definitely was MUCH smaller than we remembered, and it seemed a bit more cheesy. The last time we had set foot at this place was when we attended the school many years ago, Lorrie tried to convince me she hadn't been in 10 years, I laughed and said No my friend it's been 15 years. She gasped and said, "OH MY GOSH YOU ARE RIGHT!" Hahaha oh man does reality bite sometimes. We ate good food and got some drinks and decided to walk around to check everything out. We walked and talked about the memories of what boys we rode what rides with and how it was such a BIG deal then. I even attempted the hopscotch still painted so neatly on the pavement in my high heel boots while holding a glass of chardonnay.....my brother told me, "Shelly shouldn't be attempting hopscotch right now!" Haha I proved him wrong! Lorrie wanted to walk to the softball field which had been dedicated to her dad, Gary for his commitment to the schools softball team. Sadly the team has not been active since her dad stopped coaching and the field was pretty much dead, but there hung the sign on the backstop:
It was pretty cool that Lorrie was able to see it. Her dad is VERY enthusiastic and knowledgeable in baseball and softball. He was my coach for many years and although his intensity was too much for some, his love of the game was extremely motivational and inspiring. He hasn't changed to this day. I saw him last weekend at his youngest daughter's wedding and he says to me, "You know we have practice right after this right?" I just laughed.
Aaron and Cara talked about their memories on the ZIPPER ride and my dad immediately went to the ticket booth and bough the four of us tickets to go on the ride. We all were a bit hesitant because let's face it we are 15-20 years older than we were last time we attempted this ride and we had just eaten. Yet at the same time we really did want to revisit the experience. I must tell you I don't think I've laughed that hard in a VERY long time...it was that nervous fun laugh that you get and you just can't stop and you have tears rolling down your cheeks. Getting on that ride brought me back to my childhood days, and it was like a sudden flashback of 9 years of memories, some of which I had forgotten until that moment. I took Aaron and Cara's picture in front of the ZIPPER which is only appropriate...they met in elementary school, went to high school dances together and married each other just this year. To think it all began with the ZIPPER (haha I have to chuckle at that for a few reasons):
It's moments like these that I realize how life passes so fast, how it's full of surprises and sometimes just how some things DO last forever. Who knew when I met Lorrie in elementary school we would still be friends this many years later, who knew my brother and Cara would end up married many years later? But here is where it all began...back in the day where we began to mold and shape into the people we are today. I'm glad we decided to turn a joking idea into an actual serious pursuit of a random good time down memory lane....
Sometimes all you need is to go back where you came from, to figure out how to get to where you are going!
I was glad to be able to share that memorable evening with my family. It also brought back good time memories for me as well since I spent eight years working this event.Thanks for sharing, Shelly.
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