So many somethings

My friend Toni just blogged about a statement she made last Saturday while we toured Camden Catholic High School. One of the other alumni asked her what activities she took part in at school and Toni replied, "I did nothing."

Toni, you may never been on a roster, donned a cheerleader's uniform or been President of the Student Government. You may not have gone to the cool parties, sat at the popular table in the lunchroom or drove a hot car. And perhaps you were a scared kid and felt like a nothing.

But you were so many somethings to me.

You were my breath of fresh air in a place and time that didn't appreciate going against the grain. You thought differently, you saw a bigger world, you appreciated the differences in the few people that dared to be themselves, rather than taking comfort in the conformity of the majority.

You had a laugh like no other...it was infectious and made me laugh no matter how horrible my day.

You were (and are) beautiful, yet never saw it in yourself. I still remember how you talked with your hand in front of your mouth because you hated your braces. If you only realized how lovely you were.

You celebrated my crazy haircuts, dramatic dress and Doc Martin fetish.

And when you moved, part of me was lost. You were gone. Your voracious laugh ceased echoing through the halls. You weren't sitting next to me in Chorale, getting in trouble for putting on makeup. You weren't there when my best friend walked away from me and my broke my heart. You didn't sleep over the night of graduation and stay up all night with me and Diane watching John Hughes movies. Your absence was greatly felt because you were never nothing.

You did so much. You were all the little somethings that make two people friends.

Velcro

I've often thought that my soul is invisibly velcroed to the souls of others. No matter what time passes, no matter the spacial distance between us, the velcroed souls are still connected.

I have experience this with several people from high school: Jennifer, Will and Toni being three.

I had awaited Toni's arrival for weeks on end. I couldn't wait to see my dear friend in person again. I hadn't spent any real time with her since the summer of 1989 when I went to see her in Arizona just after she moved. I saw her for 5 minutes at my high school graduation and that was it.

Due to the miraculous gift of the Internet, she and I made contact just a few short years ago. I know all about her family, her life in Arizona, her puppies, etc. But, did I still really know her? I must admit that Friday morning when she texted me that she landed, a slight nervous feeling took me over for a moment. What if one or both of us had changed so fundamentally that we didn't have anything to chat about? What if we didn't know how to act?

Oh my, after 20 years of not even being in the same time zone we were about to spend 48 solid hours with each other.

I stepped outside to have a cigarette and saw the Rapid Rover van approach my building. The few seconds of jitters dissipated. The driver opened Toni's door and we ran toward each other, arms outstretched. An enormous hug ensued.

Velcro. It was sheer velcro.

Carrying On

In 1939 the British Government designed a poster reading "Keep Calm and Carry On" to keep up morale during World War Two. I have loved the saying for years for it is such a too-the-point and almost sterilised way of addressing unpleasantness.

I am coming off the high of a whirlwind, four-day weekend.

I took off on Thursday to have some minor repairs done in my apartment in the morning, then have the floors professionally cleaned in the afternoon. Friday, my darling friend Toni arrived in the early morning and she and I ran around town until 6 am Sunday morning when I dropped her off at the airport.

In the interim of our wonderful madness, she gave me a necklace she MADE just for me! A Keep Calm and Carry On necklace. And I just adore it! I seriously think Toni should open a shop on Etsy and begin selling her creations. What do you think?

I have worn my lovely necklace for the past three days and it makes me happy every time I get a glance of it.

Life, as beautiful as it is, can be hectic and difficult. We get wrapped up in worry, drama and silliness. It's nice to have a reminder to focus. To Keep Calm and Carry On.

I have many more reunion weekend tales. Please stay tuned.