Tonight Lyn and Aaron came into town to visit their friend, Clint, who lives down the road from me. They went to the same summer camp together for almost 15 years. At camp, Aaron developed the nickname, Pickle and Lyn, Relish. Clint did not know their real names until four years ago. That is amazing. I wish that I had the chance to grow up with friends like that. If I ever have children I want to provide that for them.
As a child that moved from place to place most of my life, I know what it is like to be the new kid in school and in the neighborhood. It's never fun. I ran the risk of being an outsider, the weird kid, or, if I was lucky, accepted into a group. More often than not I was the outsider because I was quiet. I listened when others spoke. I took it all in, but was never actually included. I spent the most time in one school halfway through my freshman year until the end of my junior year. I was quiet, but I had enough time to grow on others and be included as the "nice quiet girl". Then we moved again and I faced torture again at the worst possible time: my senior year.
Again, it's not that people were mean to me, I wasn't the weird kid, despite what some of you may think. I was quiet and the other seniors didn't get it. I had a group that I hung out with, but I wasn't exactly into the same stuff they were, so It was awkward. I'm glad that I moved to Tennessee. I do wonder what life would have been like back in Texas. I had plans like most Seniors do. Get my paramedic license and work through college at Dallas Baptist University, and become a nurse. Who knows where I would have been?
If you have a tight group, though, it offers so many opportunities. You are confident because your friends know you and your quirks and most importantly, you belong. If anyone is true to themselves, then you can all vouch for that. Belonging, whether to a circle of friends or a team, somewhere outside of your family makes you feel OK with everything else life throws at you.
Now to the fun part of the evening. After we ate at Ruby Tuesdays (Well, Clint and I did. Aaron and Lyn had dessert and appetizers.) we went bowling. It was a lot of fun. I haven't bowled since Hollywood Video Guy took me out. Both games I scored a 69. No joke. How funny is that?
After bowling we went back to Clint's place and played two card games: golf and Texas Hold 'Em. Golf is like its namesake, you want the lowest score at the end. It's hard to explain, but if you know me you should ask me to play once. It is fun.
Texas Hold 'Em was even better. I have never played poker in my life. I've tried a few times, but I was either drunk or the group was playing a difficult version of poker and I didn't understand the explanation. Playing with Aaron, Lyn, and Clint was great because Aaron knows what he's talking about and was patient in explaining, even when I stopped game play to ask questions. I won! Technically, Clint and Lyn still had some chips left, but we stopped playing because it was late and I had the most chips! It was a good last hand. I beat Aaron! Again, people were playing nice so it's not like it was a real game. I want to play more!
Tomorrow I promise to update about some funny stuff that happened after the New Year.
Peace.
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