Chapter Eight--Millennium Girl

Hula hooping at a fun 1950s diner in WI, close to where my sisters went to college.

The Story
To be honest, my eleventh birthday doesn't really stick out all that clearly in my mind. What does stick out though was that I turned eleven in year 2000. I vividly remember all of the hype concerning Y2K. I had friends who literally filled up a closet under their stairs, full of canned goods and bottled water. Even my own mother bought a couple of extra flats of canned food. I don't really think she thought much of it though, and she always sort of rolled her eyes at the other more nervous mothers. I remember being a little nervous myself. Everyone was building it up to be the end of the world, and here I was only eleven. I had never held hands with a boy, or been out of the country, I was not ready for my life to end quite yet! Then I remember I had this awesome revelation. I realized that we were in the central timezone! All of those poor souls on the East Coast would lose all their lives and hour before we did, and then at least I would have an hour to prepare myself. I remember at 11:00, my dad got a call from a good friend just over in Indiana. "He says all is well, and everything is up and running." I remember a feeling of relief, while most of the grown-ups just laughed. 
My parents were known for their amazing parties. My dad is a total people person. He likes the noise and chaos of having a lot of people in our house. I suppose it comes from being in a family of eleven.  New Year's Eves were always filled with a variety of different people. My sisters were always home from college with their boyfriends and any other friends who wished to tag along. Then there were the families that were close to our family, and good friends with our parents. I was always excited because no matter what, I knew that Shea would be there. It was New Year's Eve tradition. We loved it, because it was the ultimate paytime. What other day of the year did you get to stay at your friend's house until midnight? I remember that specific year we made a world of fairies in the playroom. We made a fairy to represent everything. There was a fairy for rain and summer and winter, and evil, and good, and flowers etc.. some were made from Barbies, some were made from baby dolls, and pretty much everything in between. In all honesty, it was pretty amazing. We did their hair, find them the appropriate clothes for representing who they were, and made them a habitat of sorts. It pretty much took us like the whole night, and it was so much fun. Of course it takes longer when you have to run downstairs every so often to get a brownie or a dinner roll.

For Mom
Looking back, I never realized how much work my mama put into those parties. I mean, those of you who knew her, knew she was quite social, but I am learning that there is a huge difference between enjoying parties and planning them. I think my mom thruoughly enjoyed it all though. I mean, now and then she would reach her stress level and tell Abby and I to "hush, I'm trying to think!" but the majority of the time, she was on top of her game. This past summer, I through a baby shower for a good friend of mine. It was the first time I had ever done anything like it. I was nervous that things wouldnt go well, and I really hoped that it would be cute and fun. I remember one day, I drove over to the cemetary, and I got out of the car and just sat there talking to my mom. I dont know, maybe I'm slightly crazy. You are too though, you just dont blog about it. I remember saying, "Mom! How? How did you do all of that! How did you plan party after party after shower after wedding reception? I can't do it!"and just sat there and cried for a while. I think its these little "unimportant" things that I so wish I could ask her. Anyway, all that to say, she was an exceptionally talented woman in this area, and I am forever greatful for the few tips and tricks that she did teach me.

Personal Feelings
Another thing I remember about my mom at this time was her semi-frankness towards me as someone who was quickly approaching her teenage years. I was getting more and more used to the prospect of boys and them being cute, and being under the huge pressure of "Who do you like?" as a social status. I remember one day, I plucked up the courage to tell her that I liked this one specific boy. For his privacy and others who may know him, I'll call him John. "Mom." I said mustering up my courage, "I like John." I waited for the shocked response, or maybe a teasing or scolding. Instead she said, "Oh. So what?" I was taken aback. "So what?" I asked. "Yes, so what now? What are you going to do about it?" It took me a minute to gather myself. I had never really thought about that before. "Well nothing I guess" was my reply. "Ok, good." she answered. I know it doesnt sound like much, but from that moment on, I knew how to go about the whole "boys" thing. It was to not go about it at all! I realized that by letting them make the first move you could A) Save yourself from embarassment and rejection. B) Not get in trouble, because you had someone to blame it on and C) Have the opportunity to say no, or change your mind. So I had it pretty much figured out at age eleven. However, I did not always heed my own advice, as we will see a couple of posts later.

With my family at The Phantom of the Opera.
I remember I spent like all afternoon curling my hair, I'm pretty sure it was the first time.

The World
When I was eleven, another big happening took place in my family. My sister Gretchen got engaged to her boyfriend, Josh! I was so excited! I remember I bragged to all of my friends and could not wait for the wedding. I cannot tell you all about it quite yet, because it will have to wait until the next post, but I had an awesome time. Josh was one of those people who quickly found his way into our family, almost immediately feeling like he was on the inside. That was another thing I knew I wanted in a guy. A guy that would click with my family. I never realized how important it was, until I experimented around with some that didnt click. Anyway, I was very excited for another wedding. This time, I would get to be an actual bridsmaid!
In my pictures you can start to see a little of the transformation physically as well. I started growing my bangs out, and I was finally starting to thin out a little. I wore the same size of clothes from age 10-well...now! I didnt get a whole lot taller, but it definitely helped me out to lose a little of that baby fat.

American Girl Place, Chicago.

Hearts I Loved
I think Ive mentioned before that the majority of my friends are about a year older than I am. This was perfectly fine, since my social events were all circled around being homeschooled, and the importance of age and grade isnt really there for homeschoolers. Then, when I entered into 6th grade, my friends all entered into the Youth Group at our church. I vividly remember the devestation. I felt isolated and alone, and I felt like a lot of them forgot about me. They had all of these exciting activities and events to attend, and I was entirely left out. Little did I know, that this was the first of many times that God would allow a situation like this to come into my life. God was trying to teach me that new friends can be made and new relationships can be built. Its obviously been a hard lesson for me, and a recurring theme throughout my life. In my late teenage years and early college years, it seemed to happen constantly. People always leave, people usually forget, and people find replacements. Looking back, it was good for me. It was good for me to be streched and prodded and pushed in a way that helped me to grow in character. During this time I made friends with some younger people who would turn out to be some of the greatest friends I had ever had.

I'm linked up with Mommy's Piggy Tales, where we are telling the stories of our childhood.