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Sunday, June 3, 2012

HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES (?)





I am going to reminisce about the 'boys' in my high school life. I was not a wild or rule breaking kind of girl, I gave my parents very little reason not to trust me. I went where I said I was going and I was home by curfew, midnight. I did, however, have a few boyfriends, though one I couldn't seem to get over. 




In 1962 our small village school, Gaines Area School, was faced with going from a K-12 school to an elementary K-6th grade because we were annexing with a huge school some 8 or 9 miles away. Our class D school would now be a Class A school, which is very hard to imagine if you're 12. Our 7th through 12th grades would be traveling to Swartz Creek and mixing with all those thousands of students in that gigantic building. I would be entering the 8th grade in the fall of '62 and changing class rooms for each class for the first time. I would have a locker and a schedule and would be expected to navigate those halls and show up on time for each class. I was not secure nor was I petrified. It seemed such a big deal to me and I believed it would be an adventure, of sorts. I think I always believed I'd figure it out in short order and I guess I did. I do remember my first day, kind of, I remember being tingly all day. I loved this big gigantic building and all the new faces mixed with all my old friends, so very exciting.


Back in third grade I had my first crush, Tim. But now in Junior High, I met Barry. Ah, my first real boyfriend. My first boyfriend was from Swartz Creek, the big giant school and he has chosen me. He was so cute and he gave me my first lip lockin' kiss in the hall by my locker between classes. It was awesome. He was a really good first boyfriend. When we broke up, I have no idea why, we remained friends. I liked him all through high school and still today think of him now and then with fondness. I saw him at our 25th class reunion and the planning for it prior and I still find him to be a really good man. Someone with whom I could and would be friends, if we lived closer. His wife seemed very nice and I assume she is also good people, he wouldn't have chosen her otherwise.


In March of 1963, I had my first date with John. My first date, period. He was my sister's boyfriend's brother and my parents allowed me to go on a date with him because they knew his family, I guess.  I was barely 13 and we went to a basketball game and the dance following. It was a nice date and I liked him very much. He didn't kiss me or dance too close or make me nervous. My first date was pretty good. I wanted and hoped we would have a second date.


We did. He wasn't much for using the phone, so he found me at lunch time at school and asked me to go to the movie with him and his brother and my friend Kathy. A drive-in movie with my friend and his brother, they had just started dating a few months prior to our first date. My parents allowed this date also and we went to see "Splendor in the Grass". My parents did NOT know that was the movie we'd be seeing. It was a little, umm, inappropriate, but I think we handled it okay. This relationship was not a smooth ride. We dated on and off all through high school. During our lengthy break-ups, and there were MANY, there were other boyfriends and dates. I honestly don't know if he dated anyone other than me, if he did, no one told me or I choose not to remember. I really don't know. John was a Gaines boy.


I dated a neighbor of Barry's, Guy, during one of our break-up periods and this was a boy I always thought broke my heart. He has recently informed me that I was the heart breaker. I don't remember. I don't remember us breaking up at all. I do remember being with him. I remember how he made me feel. Very differently than John. Guy made me believe I was a pretty girl and he always made me feel special. His family treated me like one of them from my first meeting with them. He was my 'mature' boyfriend. He was so good to me and as I recall, tender and funny. Funny mattered to me and affectionate mattered to me. It was a special relationship for a lot of reasons and what I remember of all of it, I was just as special to him as he was to me. We are in touch again, thank you FB, and it's good to know he is married and has a family and all seems good in his world. It makes me happy to know he is happy and that he remembers with kind thoughts as I remember, us. Guy was a Swartz Creek boy. I remember seeing him off for the Air Force, I don't know why I went to send him off, I just know I did. He was (and is) special.


I had a date with Bob. One was enough. Also a Swartz Creek boy.


I had a crush on more than one boy without success. Meaning, no dates. I learned years later one boy had a giant crush on me, but I didn't know and thought of him as a friend, always. I would have gone out with him, had he asked, but now, I am glad I didn't because he maintained the friend status throughout high school and I really loved being his friend. This Bob, was a great addition to my life.


I went to a prom in a neighboring town, Durand, with another friend. He didn't have a girlfriend and I was happy to go with him. It was a fun night, but totally no sparks and totally no thought of a real date with this Johnny. He was completely friend material, only.


I went to four proms in high school. Three at Swartz Creek and the one I just mentioned. My first prom I was a freshman and Tim invited me and I was happy to attend with him. He was a friend and we had a really good time. I wore a pink knee length formal (my sister's hand me down) and he was a fun date. Tim was a Gaines boy.


The third was my sophomore year and I wore a mint green knee length, strapless formal (another of my sister's gowns). Here's the sad part, I remember my hair, my corsage and my dress and shoes, I do NOT remember my date. OMG! Serously, I cannot at this moment remember with whom I attended prom in my sophomore year. It might have been Tom, I dated him a couple of times. A Swartz Creek boy. I will have to dig through some olden days pictures and see if I have one of that prom. *sigh*  


Apparently I was meant to be with John. Every single time we broke-up and made up again our relationship seemed better. Almost like breaking up made us stronger. I don't know. I was sure I loved him and I was equally sure he loved me and that this was forever.


We went to my senior prom together and it was a perfect night. I wore a floor length light yellow gown with pearls all over the bodice and I loved the dress and my date.


Four months after I graduated I married my high school sweetheart of 4 years. i was 17 years old and walked down the aisle to my future with a smile. I believed we would be together til death do us part. No doubts. 


The marriage lasted 10 years and produced two children and many, many happy memories. Seven of those years were very happy and very much the life I wanted to live forever. What I couldn't live with forever was a bottle of anything being more important and being more necessary than me. I took my babies and left. Waiting for him to need us more than he needed that. It didn't happen.


Oops, that had nothing to do with high school, the marriage part.  


There were other dates and other crushes, but these are the ones I remember something about and the ones I still think about sometimes. The others, I am sure were fun or interesting at the time, but now, I have no recall.


Let me just say that many of the friends, boys and girls, from high school or even grade school have stood the test of time and still remain people of great importance in my life. The entire Gaines Group and so many Swartz Creek friends are still part of my everyday thinking. Most of my memories, the relatively clear ones, involve some of these wonderful old friends and our good times.


Thank you one and all for being the reality with which I exist today and relive my yesterdays, now and then.


♥ Jo







41 comments:

  1. It is so much fun to read about your memories. I love learning more about the real person behind the blog. XOXO

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    1. My amnesia is the topic of the night! LOL Thanks Kat. It's fun to try to remember stuff even though, I think I have forgotten way more than I remember. ♥

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  2. Thanks for sharing the memories Jo. The good ones always bring joy to our hearts. lovely post and nice to learn a little bit more about you.

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    1. Probably more than you wanted to know! LOL High School was a good time for me, mostly. :)

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  3. Sounds like fun. The social life is what makes high school very special.

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    1. It was fun for the most part and being in touch with these people so many years later, thanks to FB has proven to be amazing.
      Old friends are like family, they forget over time all your bad moves, unless they were really funny! LOL

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  4. You were quite the social butterfly Jo!! Loved reading about your memories and getting to know you better in the process.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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    1. I am covering a four year period here, not such a butterfly really. I had fun and some nice dates and a couple not so nice, but I do like remembering the few things I do remember. :)

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  5. That was so touching, Jo. There was something delicate about the whole blog. Thank you for letting us into your life a little more xx

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    1. I always tell you guys, my life is an open book! I have been blessed with enough happiness and enough sadness to know how precious my life is.
      Thanks Gill...♥

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  6. I didn't date in high school...what was the point. But I am glad you have such nice memories.

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    1. Thanks Susan. I know a lot of people who didn't like high school for many reasons, I guess as long as there are people around, I'll like where I am! ♥

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  7. "walked down the aisle to my future with a smile" Lovely writing.

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    1. Thanks Jewels...It really was a magical day. He was my forever man, heartbreaking that he changed so much in just 7 years of marriage. ♥

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  8. I could sit and read your memories forever. They are effortless and entertaining!!

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    1. Oh well, now that I know that, if I have any more memories, I think I'm running low, I'll be sure to share!
      Anything to give you peace for a few minutes. ♥
      Thank you for always finding time for me and my little blogs. ♥

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  9. Gosh, those years are such a blur to me. Or maybe I just don't have anything worthy of remembering from that period...certainly no first boyfriends. I was a very late bloomer!

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    1. I really did enjoy high school and elementary, too, for that matter. ♥

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  10. I really enjoyed this Jo - but really loved the line:
    "I had a date with Bob. One was enough." There's a GOD story in there somewhere I imagine. I dated ONE guy in high school. Was only with him for a short while, but met my husband of 29 years when I was on a date with him, so it was SO worth it. Funny how those connections lead to others.

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    1. Whoops - meant "good story", not "God story". LOL

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    2. I was curious how there might be a God story in the Bob date! LOL A boring and very short story, perhaps.

      Thnnks for coming by Amy...though once again I had to go retrieve you from the spam folder! Honestly!

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  11. Wow! You were quite the popular one with all those boyfriends... but a husband at 17? Oh my.

    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

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    1. Crazy, huh? It mighta worked without the bottle issue, but then I would never have met my Roomy and I'm not lookin' back! ♥

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  12. It is amazing to read about different experiences from different places. Each one a peep into their society , culture and personal being. Great read.

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    1. Thanks so much...I agree it does show you how different the societies are and how different people grew or shrunk away from life in high school. ♥

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  13. I loved reading this Jo:)The innocent teenage crushes and dates:)Really really enjoyed this:)

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    1. Thanks Laila and most were innocent enough~LOL

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  14. I read your very supportive comments to Kat on her recent post about high school, and I was impressed with what you had to say. What a good and supportive friend you are. I just had to meet you! So I had a few chuckles reading about your high school experiences. Reminded me of some of my own..although you were definitely more popular. (I was way too shy.) Fun post. Keep writing. I'll read!

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    1. So nice to meet you Janice. Thank you for coming by and I will most certainly visit you, if I can find you, and we will get to know each other.
      I was not Miss Popular, I just wrote about the few boys remembering this is a five year period, that isn't a LOT of boys! lol I did have a lot of friends and still make friends quite easily, but the true hold 'em in your heart forever friends are fewer and some of my oldest ones are hanging around FB now and many of my newer ones are hanging around the writers pages! I have one friend of 40 some years that I see a couple times a month and she is my soul sister, otherwise, I see most of my friends a time or two a year. Life is not as it once was and I so miss the face to face with people I love. I will meet Kat one day, soon because she and I connected almost from day one.
      Kathy, who wrote a lovely answer to her also is another I feel I need to meet. There are more. My writer friends have shown me incredible and unconditional support and I am so grateful for each and every one of them.
      High school was fun for me and I guess I'm unusual in that. Who knew? :)

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  15. Fun post! I'm so glad you suggested this topic!! I wrote my "To All the Boys I've Loved Before" post some time back and enjoyed it a lot. :O)

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  16. The only reason I had perfect attendance in high school was because of the girls, haha!
    I din't care about much else. Unfortunately, I moved around a lot and lost touch with everyone.

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  17. WOW..you know my daughter married with the same spirit and dedication...and ironically the same thing happened to her!! (i too had to go to the court house and sign papers to allow her to marry at the tender age of 17) Like you...she loved with her entire heart..i never doubted her love for him. I wonder if she will take up writing? :0) Love your spirit Jo..its such a blessing to know you...MUAH! TFS as always ((hugs))

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    1. Thank you Brenda...I feel blessed, too. I always say the good years with him were really good and the bad were equally bad, but I had to go through that and so did he to be the people we are today. I am so happy with Roomy and because I can take care of myself and I did raise my babies, I can be a good partner to him, now. It's all good. (((hugs))) right back ♥

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  18. Great blog, Jo! Four proms - you rock! :D

    Thanks for sharing about your first marriage and glad you came out on the other end a happy woman!

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    1. Thank you, Linda. Like most people who get to this age, my life has many great moments and many horrid ones. I am blessed to have survived and grown through them all. I am a happy woman. ♥

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