****We are away for a few days so I am posting an old favorite****
Have you ever looked at someone but not really see them?
My youngest has gone to school with the same little boy for 3 years. I've seen his parents at school events, meetings and the pick-up/drop-off shuffle. We always smile, or give the 'Hey' nod. Pleasant greetings for 3 years.
Now here we are at a pool birthday party and while the children played, the father and I sat next to each other and starting talking.
He was reminiscing about the pool and how its changed since he was little. He was talking about the change in the neighborhood which led to the question "Where did you grow up?" I said 'I grew up in the North part of town" and gave the general area. He just looked at me. I thought he didn't know what I was talking about so I gave him more details. He still just stared at me. I felt a little awkward so I gave him specific streets and he said "I grew up one block from you".
That's when I really looked at him.
I said 'What is your name again?' "Jerry". Oh My Gawd! I screamed inside my head while it flooded with memories of the cutest little 12 year old boy that I had such a huge crush on. I would make sure that I had all of my homework done by a certain time so I could watch him play basketball. I would pray that he would choose the same spot for Hide And Seek as I did (and that we wouldn't be found right away!)
All of this is going through my head while I'm looking at the face of a 40-something year old father of 3.
Those eyes... those blue eyes are the only thing that looked the same.
We spent the rest of the party talking about the ol' neighborhood, mutual friends and the "Whatever happened to's".
It was an incredible experience. It was nice to be 10 again for a little bit.
Have you ever looked at someone but not really see them?
My youngest has gone to school with the same little boy for 3 years. I've seen his parents at school events, meetings and the pick-up/drop-off shuffle. We always smile, or give the 'Hey' nod. Pleasant greetings for 3 years.
Now here we are at a pool birthday party and while the children played, the father and I sat next to each other and starting talking.
He was reminiscing about the pool and how its changed since he was little. He was talking about the change in the neighborhood which led to the question "Where did you grow up?" I said 'I grew up in the North part of town" and gave the general area. He just looked at me. I thought he didn't know what I was talking about so I gave him more details. He still just stared at me. I felt a little awkward so I gave him specific streets and he said "I grew up one block from you".
That's when I really looked at him.
I said 'What is your name again?' "Jerry". Oh My Gawd! I screamed inside my head while it flooded with memories of the cutest little 12 year old boy that I had such a huge crush on. I would make sure that I had all of my homework done by a certain time so I could watch him play basketball. I would pray that he would choose the same spot for Hide And Seek as I did (and that we wouldn't be found right away!)
All of this is going through my head while I'm looking at the face of a 40-something year old father of 3.
Those eyes... those blue eyes are the only thing that looked the same.
We spent the rest of the party talking about the ol' neighborhood, mutual friends and the "Whatever happened to's".
It was an incredible experience. It was nice to be 10 again for a little bit.