Ivey Nostalgia

I wanted to write a post about Ms. Ivey, who has been in my life what seems like FOREVER. Some of my best friends, including Ms. Ivey, I met in elementary or junior high school.


MRS. BITCH, ME AND MS. IVEY, SIXTH GRADE, 1990

So when I was sitting down to actually write this post I started digging on my hard drive for photos. Photos of her and I through the 23 years of our friendship. I don’t have many photos of me with my friends but I knew I had a few of Ms. Ivey and I together... at least I think I know. Anyways I wasn’t finding what I was looking for on the hard drive so I went in search through the memory bins, where I promptly got lost in the sea of my past. I officially have four big plastic bins of bits of my past, all totally unorganized, which means I can never find anything that I want. In essence it took me over three and a half hours to find four photos of Ms. Ivey and I. Mostly it took that long because I kept getting distracted by stuff, and partially because I got itchy and started to organize things.



Regardless I did find a few photos, not very many at all, especially considering how photo happy I am now. It makes me sad that my past isn’t documented in photos very well at all. But I do fondly remember the drugs that brought Ms. Ivey and I together (#snicker). We were doing a school project about drugs, each group got assigned a specific item to make a presentation out of; we were assigned Barbituate’s. Although Ms. Ivey does not remember this specific project, shame on her because that tree I drew was AMAZING!!!! a bond was formed and we have stayed close ever since, even in our gargantuan high school class of 1997.


GRADUATING WITH TOO MANY OTHER SENIORS, 1997


MS. IVEY FRONT AND CENTER, I AM THE ONE HIDING BEHIND HER, 1997

There were YEARS when Ms. Ivey lived abroad, first in London and then in Mexico city, where our budgets were tight and our time so busy. In those years we communticated by letter, and then later by email. In fact Ms. Ivey created my first ever email account.

Big_ole_meanie 'at' hotmail.com
NO LONGER AN ACTIVE ACCOUNT

YEAH. Needless to say I don’t use that account anymore but the humor does not escape me that my not as technically inclined friend forced me into emailing. I know I am really dating us here! A time before email... GASP!

Yup when I was born there were no cell phones, no internet, no GOOGLE. It was called the dark ages.


WE RESORTED TO EMAIL WHEN TRANSATLANTIC CALLS WERE JUST TOO EXPENSIVE

Mrs. Dancer joined us three years later and became the third musketeer we needed to complete our little circle. We have been getting each other into, and helping each other out of skinned knees, first kisses, depression, and heartbreak.


MRS. DANCER, MS. IVEY & ME JAMMED INTO A PHOTOBOOTH, 2003

The hardest thing about knowing someone so long is to be very honest and to forgive. Sure we have gotten into enough issues with each other but short term relationships, those are easy, its the ones that go on for years, no decades, that require a certain amount of brutal honesty, forgiveness and acceptance.


READY TO GO OUT ON THE TOWN CHRISTMAS, 2005


MS. IVEY AND I ON OUR DREAM CRUISE VACATION TO MEXICO, 2009

My kids will call her auntie, not because she is blood, but because she IS FAMILY. Treasures like that are hard to find, don’t worry I appreciate her and don’t plan to ever let go. Love you Ms. Ivey, don’t you dare ever leave me because I will never let you go!


MS. IVEY AND I FRIENDS FOREVER, 2012