From Whence You Came

During college I had a friend, more a girlfriend of my boyfriend's friend, who happily referred to herself as 'daddy's princess'.  No, seriously.  They went to Disney world like 4 times a year and when her sister got married in her 30's she had a Disney princess theme.  It was all a bit shocking to my system as I had grown out of that phase at age 5 or so. 

When she and my boyfriend's friend got engaged, we were all invited to her hometown for a bridal shower.  I remember one of her closest college friends pulled us 'newbies' aside and said, "When we go to her hometown, you will understand why she is the way she is."  Sure enough, after 2 days with her parents, aunts and other close friends and family, I realized that she wasn't the crazy one.  She had only absorbed crazy growing up and knew nothing more. 

When she was around her family it was like she was the missing piece of the puzzle.  She was a perfect match to the environment.  She wasn't the loud one anymore, she wasn't the biggest 'princess', in fact she seemed downright subdued comparatively.  I DID understand her more.  And felt sorry for my friend who was marrying into all that.

Personally, I had always felt a little 'wierd' growing up.  I liked to wear black, my brother's cammo, my Dad's high school letter jacket and my sister's big 80's jewelry.  The more unique the stuff, the better. So when I left to go to OU, I thought I would fit right in.  Turns out my liking to shower daily and lack of experimentation with drugs kept me from fitting in with the hippie crowd.  And I didn't care as much about my looks to fit in the sorority crowd. After a year and a half I moved on.

Moving to UC was much better, I liked to think of my DAAP class as the 'Island of the Misfit Toys'.  There were the typical driven freshman, but also an exceptionally large amount of transfers.  Those of us who were over the newness of college and through different circumstances had found our way to that strange building with strange hours and strange professors.  Not one was the same, but we were all linked by the same ridiculousness that 5 years brought us.  Some I clicked with more than others but we all had the same battlefield alliance no outside person could relate to.

The last 10 years have brought an expansiveness to our lives with new church acquaintances, mommy friends, neighbors, etc.  We all have something in common that I truly enjoy being a part of.

Last weekend I went back to my hometown to celebrate the birthday of a best friend since birth.  At midnight I found myself surrounded by girls, now women, who had spent their formidable childhood/teenage years together.  There were the same old stories, a lot of laughing, beer, yoga pants, stretch marks, no make-up and pony tails.  But most important was the unmistakable sense of home.  The moment I no longer felt like a fish out of water, but piece of the landscape. 

I never want to move back.  I have a happy life with my family a few hours away, but sometimes it's nice to go where people know (and helped create) the skeletons in your closet and who knew you before you figured it out yourself.  As different as we all are now, we all had this small town in common that shaped who we were to become.

Most importantly, after that weekend, it's really nice to know I'm not all that crazy.  I just absorbed a large amount of it growing up :)