Showers

I love October and today is a perfect October day. I love a little rain. Some people think this weather is gloomy, but I like to think of it as cozy. This is a picture of the leaves at Pioneer Park this morning.

Again, I’m at a place where I want to update my blog but I don’t really have any current events to write about. So instead I will insert a flashback from February 8, 2002. I came across this in one of my journals this morning as I searched for an email from my friend Ilene. If someone says something I like in an email, I keep it, print it out, shrink it down to journal size and save it for reference when I want to remember exactly what they said.

What I found first is actually an email I sent to Ilene about a baby shower I went to. Her inbox was kind of my journal for a while, so I would print out a lot of emails to her and paste them in my journals to avoid writing them all over again, and to avoid the hindsight that comes with rewrites. It made me laugh pretty hard this morning because it just attests to how I really didn’t fit in with my circle of friends. Of course, when you’re really little, it doesn’t matter all that much, but when you get older, it becomes more apparent.

Let’s begin with a brief description of our cast of characters.

Me: You know who I am.
Amanda: Blonde, way into working out. Says “cute” without pronouncing the “t”
Amy: Best friend growing up, super smart, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by looking or talking to her necessarily. You know what, she doesn’t even have a speaking role in this excerpt, even though it is her shower.
Connie: One of my mom’s friends in the ward. Her lines make her sound like an out of place drunk glued to the couch. She’s the best. I think I sat by her the whole night.

Note to reader: my reactions to what is being said to me are in parenthesis as little asides.

From: Laura Durham
To: Ilene
Date: 2/8/02 9:38 AM
Subject: Amy’s Baby Shower

So last night my friend Amanda hosted Amy’s baby shower. It was a shower where all the ladies from our ward were invited. I haven’t seen Amy for like two years and I haven’t seen Amanda for maybe three or four. Both are extremely pregnant. These were some of the conversations that took place:

Amanda: “Laura!” I haven’t seen you for like three years!”
Me: “I know.”
Amanda: “You look so cute and thin! (did I used to be fat?)
Me: “Thanks, you look kind of fat.” (she’s pregnant so it’s ok to say that)

Connie (my mom’s friend from the ward) is sitting on the couch and says,

“Laura, c’mere. My daughter says you’re dating this guy really seriously.”
“Really? Cause I’m not.”

Amanda’s mom brings me a plate of food and then Amy’s mom grabs a camera to take a picture of me while I’m eating because I’m “so cute” she says.

This one lady from the ward doesn’t recognize me (nor I her, because she’s new in the home ward I guess – or at least new in the past five years) so she comes up to me and says.

“Hi. Did you used to be in the ward?”
“Yeah, we all grew up together.”
“And what’s your maiden name?”

Amanda: “Laura, I can’t believe you’re not married yet.”
Me: “Yeah, I know. None of us can really figure it out.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA – I flinch as hoards of laughter come from the gallery of ward ladies that I barely recognize from my Young Women’s days.

Me: “Sorry I’m running out of reasons as to why I’m not married or dating anyone right now.”

Connie: “Just tell’em you’re gay. That’ll shut’em up.

Me: “So Amanda, when are you due?”
Amanda: “Two weeks.”
Me: “Boy or girl?”
Amanda: “A little girl.”
Me: “Do you have a name picked out?”
Amanda: “It’ll be either Tasia or Ashley.” (Please name her Ashley).

About an hour passes and the crowd has died down to just me, Amy, Amanda, their moms and a couple other ladies who stuck around. I stuck around because I was having so much fun reminiscing and having people tell me how wonderful they think I am. This one lady says,

“Laura, you look so pretty. You have such beautiful skin.”
“Oh, thank you.”
“So what are you doing these days?”
“Just moisturizing and getting plenty of sleep.”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA –hoards of laughter. Man, these guys are an easy crowd.

Amanda: “Laura, you seem a lot more outspoken than you used to be.”
Me: “Yeah, I lightened up a lot during college.”
Amanda: “Good.”

I was kidding, but whatever. I need to go to these things more often. They treat me like I’m this powerful, smart, and independent woman who has accomplished this tremendous feat by being single, doing my own thing and being happy at the same time. I guess I’m just different compared to Amy and Amanda who both got married when they were 19 or 20 and never wanted to graduate from college.

...end of email...

Yeah, that was funny to read several years later. Man. “And what’s your maiden name?” I love that. The assumption kills me, EVERY TIME.