When Sarah was little we used to have, what we called, “girl parties.” We’d try to do this at least a few times each month when I was off on weekends. Back in those days, I was a youth director and worked unusual hours so we would grab any opportunity we could find to spend time together.
Our evenings were usually simple and included all the candy, jigsaw puzzles, and movies a person could possibly inhale in about 24 hours. Our typical plan was to go to Blockbuster and pick up movies, stop by the Sing Store for candy, and a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a puzzle. Sometimes we would include a McDonald’s Happy Meal or a Hungry Howie’s pizza. I can remember that we would both stew over which puzzle to pick, or which fast food option to choose, or which movie sounded the best because these were big and important decisions! And, in that moment, the only thing that mattered.
We’ve both always loved movies so the pickings were very broad - from a Disney classic like Snow White to an oldie like White Christmas - we loved them all and learned to sing all of the songs. My favorite songs were “Sisters” from White Christmas, which we would act out, of course, and “This Little Penny” from another Danny Kaye classic called Red Nichols and the Five Pennies.
We would eat all the junk food while watching the movies and putting the puzzle together then we would pass out from exhaustion on our fold-out sofa. The ‘boys’ in our lives, also known as, the two brothers and father, would hide away in the bedrooms. We only had one VHS player in the living room so we were allowed to take charge of that room for the night.
Like all little girls, sleepovers were special and exciting to Sarah so when she was in kindergarten she wanted to have a sleepover for her birthday that year. Her class was small so we quickly realized it would be hurtful to only invite a few girls so we invited the entire class. Sarah’s birthday is four days before Christmas so in my mind I thought, “Gosh, I hope that someone comes.” “What if everyone is away for the holidays and she is devastated?” Etc., etc., etc. Well, guess what?!?! Every single parent was delighted to have 24 hours of Christmas shopping solitude and the entire class showed up with sleeping bags under their arms, squealing, and thrilled to be out of school and spending the night out!
At that time we lived in a tiny (but sweet) house with a small living room/dining room combination. I’d guess the square footage of that house was about 1200 feet. I don’t remember how many girls showed up that night but when they laid out their sleeping bags it went from one wall to the next and you had to be careful where you stepped so you didn’t smoosh someone's favorite stuffed animal, their pillow, or their feet.
That tiny house had a split plan and the living room had a door that connected to the master bedroom where my youngest son and husband were hiding out away from the squealing joy of the party. At some point my little son opened the door, looked out into the living room, then turned to his dad and said, “Girls as far as the eye can see … “ He was tiny with white-blond hair and gigantic brown eyes that seemed to be looking out at a most unbelievable scene. This is truly one of my favorite memories of their childhood. His beautiful face was the very definition of awe.
All these years later, we still have our “girl parties” and I know I am one lucky momma. Today, when we have sleepovers, we will still watch movies or tv shows (and we continue to love the Disney classics, Minions, and old shows like Friends) and we still get ‘to-go’ food, sometimes from McDonalds and sometimes from a fancier place. Sometimes we find a recipe online and try to recreate it. We also drink wine now.
I’m so happy we built these memories so long ago because they are why we are still so close today and I’m not sorry I ate all that candy or fast food every weekend because the joy was (and is) so much more important than anything else.
During this odd-pandemic-time-in-life it is so helpful to me to remember such happy times and know that they will return. Do you have times like these? Things you remember that still fill your heart today? Hold tightly to these wonderful times and let their memories pull you through :-)
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