Friday, July 31, 2009

Date Night

So on this Friday night, while Mark works, I decided to take Parker out. We went to the mall- dinner and a play place for my toddler- perfect date. While Parker took an eternity to eat his chicken, I did my usual people watching.

My emotion surprised me. As teengaers began to fill the food court, I watched as young couples couldn't stop holding hands... not even to eat. And as two friends sat and sat and sat and giggled at who knows what, I literally got teary eyed as I thought back to my high school days. How EVERY friday night me and my best friend, H (as I called her), went to the mall. Always with a trip to a restaurant, a movie, and Gameworks, and then a sleepover at someones house. It was fun to think about how occasionally the boyfriend of the time would accompany one or the other, or the other girlfriends that rotated in and out. Oh how I miss H. I know if we were at the mall together we could be those friends sitting their laughing and talking about nothing- but having the best time. (but that would require one of us moving out of state. She's in TX, so visits are far and few between.)

I must have been feeling especially nostalgic because I found myself walking into Claires. It put a smile on my face to look at all the silly trinkets tweens can waste five bucks on. I had a huge grin; I noticed the sales clerk looking at me, I told her I hadn't been in the store in a "forever long time" and it brings back a lot of memories. She looked at me with a look only a 17 year old unammused teen could give.

If I could do it all again- I would. And I wouldn't even change anything. I loved high school.

What about you? What do you miss? Or not miss?

AND Grandma, now that I know you read this you gotta comment! Tell me about your high school days!

21 comments:

Mark said...

What was my high school like? The beach, In and Out, church dances (trust me there different in So Cal) was lots of fun but do I really miss the summer school every year, braces, bad hair, no money/job, zits, no car, no girlfriend, few friends, to say at a minimum I don't miss it.

My first year of college was an escape from my high school's seemingly life sentence :)

It is funny how whenever you (Christy) and I talk about it, we liked different times in our lives for the same things.

Now that we're both 26 (even though you want to be thirty) I wonder what we'll look back and think of today... dirty diapers, long work hours, school, or the time we spend together talking, our hopes for our future, the people we've met, how parker makes us laugh and when we cry.

For me it's kinda like you said, I'm enjoying life with my best friend. (Sorry H! :)

April Hardy said...

I do NOT miss high school. High school was awkward and not for me. Surprising huh? I had 2 best friends who quit talking to me 2 weeks before graduation, and my other best friend mom and dad didn't like me hanging out with. Plus I went to 4 high schools, my experiences at that age are much different than most peoples. I couldn't wait to get out and leave Texas. I miss my early twenties...I miss going on vacations with my friends, I miss being skinny, I miss having money to blow, I miss irresponsibility that I had after highschool and before getting married. My favorite years were at Snow College. The people and experiences were just amazing. And I am still close to those I met there.

Evaly said...

I wouldn't want to redo high school. Nathan and I both miss our newlywed days. Now it's all about the kids, which is good too, but definitely requires a lot of sacrifice. It would be nice to be a little selfish and sleep in again :)

Kerrie said...

I wouldn't go high school again either. As soon as I graduated, I never talked to my friends again. In fact, if I saw them at walmart I would quickly dart off into another isle. I was so different from my friends, what would we talk about? If it wasn't for facebook and myspace I would have not contact with anyone from highschool! Running into them now wouldn't be so bad, b/c some of us have families now and I feel like we could relate on some level.

I loved college! Even though I wish I had a little bit better experience. I commuted so there wasn't a whole lot of hanging out and going out kind of stuff. No long term friendships, but I miss it. I guess it's just the early twenties carefree life style, where all I had was me to worry about. And I loved the singles ward! I miss it so much! If giving the chance I would redo those few years. It was fun!

Rebel said...

Just wanted to say: This was a really cute story.

You're a good mom too! 2 great examples for me to follow!

Heather said...

I had a blast in High School too. We had alot of LDS kids in our small town & we hung out alot. I miss our Stake dances, they were awesome! My friends & I went to our stake dance & also the stake next to ours dances. We made friends with the other stake so both dances were really big & alot of fun. My best friend happened to be my cousin & we still talk today. Not as much as I would like with having 4 kids & her having 5 kids. We both homeschool so we still have alot in common. My years at Ricks College were alot of fun too. Unfortunately I didn't stay close to anyone their, but I had a blast. I think at times we probably ALL look back at the days when we were free with less responsiblity & only had to think about ourselves. I know I do at times, but I wouldn't go back because even though it was fun that would mean I wouldn't have Bryan & the kids. Bryan is my best friend now & I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

Bart and Michelle said...

Hey Christy! Sorry I'm not the best at commenting...but I do read your blog! :) This was fun to read and think back. I really liked High School, too. I was lucky and had a great group of friends...but I'd have to agree with Evaly and say that I would LOVE to go back to being freshly married. There's something about that new, fresh love that I would love to go back to. Not that I'm not still in love...it's just different with kids. :) It's funny because every stage of life I've always looked forward to something. Now I'm learning to love the stage I'm in and look back with a smile. :)

The Young's said...

I miss just how social I was, I had a close group of friends...and we ALWAYS had something going on. It seems like since I moved to AZ, I don't have that at all. I surrounded myself with GOOD friends, so my parents could trust that we wouldn't get into trouble. Something they appreciated, as I had a couple siblings who were more on the "rebelious" side during their teen years.

Just yesterday I was thinking of how I wish I was a kid again, not having to care about "anything" (ie...the real life).

Erin said...

I loved high school. I went to the games, hung out with friends, and had a great time! LOVED IT! Don't really miss it, but had loads of fun! :)

Bianca said...

Ugh. High School? I hated high school. I was one of those kids that was always too grown up for my own good. School was boring. I was bored. Even though I took all the "advanced" classes and worked and had friends and played sports, everything was so meaningless. Girls were so petty and boys were so dumb. It just seemed like no one had big dreams like I had or ambitions for that matter.
Since I could remember I always couldn't wait to "grow up". Have a job, have my own place, etc. I'd never go back to high school! (or being a teenager for that matter!)

Christy said...

Wow this is so fun! Everyone's so different! Even though I still consider Mark and I newlyweds (4 years), I wouldn't want to go back to that first year of marriage. That was awkward. And I definitely don't want to repeat college. That was hard! And not socially satisfying at all.

Cindy Ardis said...

I think you should move back to TX so you can be by Heather. And I think Parker would make a pretty fun date, the strong silent type. As for high school, I always loved school. I had good friends and started dating your dad in high school. I loved PE. I always loved sports and being active. But seriously, I miss you being in high school and picking you up and hearing about your day. Those were the good ole days.

Unknown said...

High school was a great experience and I was super super busy with band, classes, clubs, etc. I liked my high school! But I think my focus was a little out of whack sometimes. Too worried about classes, grades, doing well. . .

Do I want to go back? NO WAY! I would much, much, rather be here and now. It's embarrassing sometimes to think back to how much I thought I knew then. . . I like to think I've come a long way in 10 years!

So I'm assuming I'll be thinking the same thing 10 years from now:)

Janalee said...

High School, how I loved thee!

Would I go back and do it again? A resounding YES! All I remember was laughing down the halls with my friends, passing hilarious notes that we had to stifle our laughter behind, going to football games and all the accompanying activities. It was so fun and I miss those carefree days.

I too, see little gaggles of teenage girls walking around sillily laughing and long for those days again.

Kristine said...

High school was "okay." I didn't have the typical hollywoodesque high school experience though. I had good close friends, and even though I went to a big high school, it wasn't real "cliquish." I wouldn't go back. I really miss Kindergarten. In fact, I missed it so much when I finished, that I went back for more. Yep, I repeated kindergarten. But not because I "failed" it was because I started really young. I was 4 and everyone else was 5 and my parents wanted to me to be in my own age group. So even though I did redo kindergarten, I would TOTALLY redo that again. Ah, those were the days.

Cindy Ardis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
HeatherNP said...

This was a wonderful post if I do say so myself. (and that has nothing to do with the fact that I'm the mysterious and missed "h" of course) As for the question at hand, I must say I am torn about the idea of going back to high school. Although I would never wanna go through the actual act of the SCHOOL part again, I would sometimes give anything to go back to that time in my life that existed outside of school. We did have the best time Christy and I couldn't ask for better memories than I have with you. Strangely enough Jake and I were at Grapevine Mills Saturday and actually sat in GameWorks for a drink while waiting for our movie to start. How funny that the same weekend you are walking down memory lane, so was I. I sat so happy and content recalling all the hilarious and fun times we've had. I shared some memories with Jake, but since the majority of our time in GameWorks was spent chasing boys I kept most of those memories to myself. It was fun to recall such times, but I think your mother had the best comment... You need to move back and we'll make even more. (o and no offense taken Mark. I too have found my best friend to spend the rest of my life with)

Karina Marie said...

You haven't been to Claire's since High School? That's where I STILL get my earrings! HA HA LOVED this post! MISS YOU GUYS TONS!!!!

Christy said...

Oops. Sorry Karina. I will probably be back in Claires sometime. I did actually buy something there too! I bought a bag!

Lorinda said...

I liked high school and had fun yet there were some parts that I really hated like not dating enough, zits, being way to emotional, not having the popular clothes....nope, don't care to go back to that time....I'm happy where I am!
I don't think Ken cared for it much either since he opted to graduate early though more recently he has become more sentimental about such memories.

The Higham Family said...

I love love loved high school, and I would definitely go back. I loved having a group of friends to hang out with and an endless supply of boys to crush on :) The only thing I would change would be to not be sooo obsessive over the boys I liked- i think I kind of scared them sometimes. Lol