Jersey Girl

Here’s another two-for-one special, because these two ladies are forever linked in my memory and in my heart.

I was working in my first classroom when Trish came in. She was wearing a t-shirt and some Adidas soccer shorts. I need to be clear, this is the first, last and only time I ever saw her dressed so casually. We were in a tiny school in New Jersey and, in a district where jobs were tough to get, Trish and I had both been hired that summer. She would be starting in third grade and I would be in fourth. Trish took me through the halls to meet another new teacher, Lynne, who was a special ed. teacher working with emotionally troubled students.

Since the staff was so small, we quickly formed friendships with everyone there, but our common newness bonded Lynne, Trish and me in a unique way. We ate lunch together every day and quickly became woven into each other’s worlds. Trish and Lynne, along with Sue and Heather (two other young teachers at our school), were my first adult friends. I didn’t know them growing up and we weren’t in college together. We met, and connected, as adults. We hung out at TGI Friday’s happy hour and went to Flyers games and concerts together. Tangent: Heather was my accomplice in paying my boss’s “ticket guy” $375 in cash to see N’Sync. For the record, it was worth every shady penny!

But we were also there for the grown-up milestones in each other’s lives. When Trish came to school wearing a beautiful diamond engagement ring, Lynne and I screeched and cheered in my classroom. When Lynne’s first pregnancy gave her a craving for Ding Dongs, she brought in enough to share with all of us and when her precious daughter arrived, wild horses could not keep us away from the hospital. When I decided to leave these dear friends and move to North Carolina, Trish threw the best party anyone has ever thrown for me.

This week marks my seventh year in North Carolina, y’all. I had six years with Trish and Lynne in New Jersey. Even though I’ve lived away from them longer than I lived with them, these ladies are still good friends. In a couple weeks I will be with them again and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for the warm welcome, the rowdy laughter, the good-natured teasing, and the bittersweet tang of confronting what I left behind.