Last weekend, Jaime mentioned a boy I used to date. "He has such a good heart," I said, because he truly does. "It's funny, but after all this time I've forgotten how and why we broke up."
"You dumped him," Jaime said.
"Yeah, but I don't remember why," I replied. I knew the general idea — we were at different life stages — but the specifics were beyond recollection.
Jaime gave me a you're-kidding look. "You seriously don't remember what pushed you over the edge?"
Well, no.
"Annie," Jaime said. "You dumped him because he had fleas."
Oh, right. That. Visions of itchy red welts on my ankles resurfaced. Once we began laughing, I could not stop. Fleas! I had completely forgotten.
Lately I have been thinking about the memories we retain and those we lose. I want to understand why they fall where they do. I don't have it figured out yet. One thing I do know, though: I am glad that my dating life no longer requires having the Orkin Man on speed dial, and I am happier still that I forgot it was necessary in the first place.
"You dumped him," Jaime said.
"Yeah, but I don't remember why," I replied. I knew the general idea — we were at different life stages — but the specifics were beyond recollection.
Jaime gave me a you're-kidding look. "You seriously don't remember what pushed you over the edge?"
Well, no.
"Annie," Jaime said. "You dumped him because he had fleas."
Oh, right. That. Visions of itchy red welts on my ankles resurfaced. Once we began laughing, I could not stop. Fleas! I had completely forgotten.
Lately I have been thinking about the memories we retain and those we lose. I want to understand why they fall where they do. I don't have it figured out yet. One thing I do know, though: I am glad that my dating life no longer requires having the Orkin Man on speed dial, and I am happier still that I forgot it was necessary in the first place.
Labels: jaime
When I was about four years old, I appeared on the Channel 3 Kids' Clubhouse — some local morning show for the little ones. The host asked each child what his or her favorite holiday was. On the tape, there's footage of me nervously chewing my lip until the host says, "And Anne? What's your favorite holiday?"
Valentine's Day, I said to her, because you get to tell people you love 'em. And it's true: I was obsessed with Valentine's Day, and I'd spend weeks making valentines, or writing personalized notes to my classmates on the backs of store-bought Chipmunks valentines. The sting of this, of course, is that my romantic moves did not pay off. When other children began stealing pecks on the cheeks, I was leaving band-fundraiser chocolates on the front porch of my poor junior-high crush, Justin Woiwode. I was a complete weirdo.
I was looking through the old posts here, and I found this one, written a few days before v-day 1998. It's funny to look at it 11 years later. It's also funny to look at this old shot of me and Jaime in our salad days. It's a picture of friendship, but it always makes me happy — especially because we remain friends more than a decade after it was taken.
Valentine's Day, I said to her, because you get to tell people you love 'em. And it's true: I was obsessed with Valentine's Day, and I'd spend weeks making valentines, or writing personalized notes to my classmates on the backs of store-bought Chipmunks valentines. The sting of this, of course, is that my romantic moves did not pay off. When other children began stealing pecks on the cheeks, I was leaving band-fundraiser chocolates on the front porch of my poor junior-high crush, Justin Woiwode. I was a complete weirdo.
I was looking through the old posts here, and I found this one, written a few days before v-day 1998. It's funny to look at it 11 years later. It's also funny to look at this old shot of me and Jaime in our salad days. It's a picture of friendship, but it always makes me happy — especially because we remain friends more than a decade after it was taken.
Labels: jaime, regression to adolescence
