Nicole's Memories

I remember being excited one day when my mom said she was taking me to visit a friend of my Grandma's. This woman evidently owned a horse (I don't remember if she lived on a farm or just out in the country, but the horse lived on her property.) Anyway, Mom said I was going to get to ride the horse, so we got in the car and drove to the lady's house. Imagine my mom's surprise when the woman answered the door and told us that her horse, who I was all charged up to ride, had unexpectedly dropped dead the previous day.

I remember the first time I drove myself over to the new Bradley library branch to return books. I opened the door to the book drop and threw my books in....then I turned around and saw the actual book drop. I had thrown my library books in the garbage can outside the library. I spent a few minutes inspecting the large metal one-piece trash can to see if I could get them back out. Once I decided that was impossible, I went home to ask my mom for help. I think we just ended up calling the library when it opened the next morning to tell them what had happened. How embarassing!

I remember going to a photographer when I was about 3 years old. I think his name was "Uncle" something...maybe "Uncle Andy"? Anyway, I thought he was a lot of fun because he just sat with me and showed me a bunch of toys and played with me. I'm not sure I even knew at the time that he was taking pictures. As an adult, those are my favorite pictures of little me.

I remember stealing my dad's cigarettes when I was 16 or 17 years old. Whenever I saw a pack, I'd steal a few and throw them away. When I was feeling very bold, I'd dispose of the whole pack. I also left him notes in his ashtray and rolled up in his cigarette packs. I don't remember exactly what they said, but I'm sure it was along the lines of "You're gonna die from this!"

I remember learning how to play Cribbage from my Great-Grandma Bebe.

I remember watching "Who's the Boss?" and thinking that Tony Danza's character reminded me of my dad. Not just because of their physical appearance, but also because of their personalities (well, minus the fact that Tony Danza played a housekeeper...I don't know if I ever saw my dad do any housekeeping.)

I remember showing up to babysit three little boys and the mom telling me, "If you see something that looks like spaghetti in Trevor's diaper, it's just pinworms." I have no recollection of whether I actually had to change the littlest boy's diaper during the time I was there, nor do I remember if I saw pinworms or not, but the very idea was almost too much for 15-year-old me to take!

I remember being about 15 and getting a zit near my mouth. I put a little peroxide on it, then a dab of Noxema, and wore that to bed. In the morning, I had a hole in my skin about the size of a dime, because apparently the chemical reaction ate the skin. I forgot about what I had done the night before, and my mom, fearing impetigo, took me to the pediatrician. He took one look at my face and said, "Oh, Nicole...what did you do to yourself?"

I remember being in Best Buy in Bloomington during college and seeing a guy with a huge bushy beard. I'm talking "mountain man" looking here. I saw him, then looked away, but I recognized something in him and caught a second look when he walked by me. When he saw me he smiled and said hello, and only then did I realize it was David C., a guy I knew from high school and attended church youth group with for a few years. Only his eyes and voice were still recognizable with all that hair covering everything else!

I remember a college professor who appeared to live in his office. He always had a couple changes of clothes hanging on the back of his door, as well as enough food strewn about to last him at least a solid week of grading papers all night, every night.

I remember Beth & Bob's Mickey Mouse phone.

I remember "Sweatin' at the Yammies" at Slobe & Joon's party.

I remember a stray cat that hung out around the house Jason and I lived in during our senior year of college. This cat was more like a dog, because he would walk with me to class in the morning.

I remember when Jason and I got engaged, we asked all of our parents to meet us for dinner one Saturday night so we could announce it to everyone at the same time. My Dad showed up with a bottle of champagne, and I asked him how he knew he was there to celebrate something. He said, "I figured either you would tell us you are engaged and we'd all have a toast, or you'd tell us you are pregnant and I'd drink the whole bottle myself!"