Back to my home town....

My "oldest" best friend (yeah yeah yeah, technically I'm 4 months older than she is, but we've known each other 35 years so that makes her my oldest-in-the-span-of-time best friend!) invited me back to our home town today for her Dad's 80th birthday party.

It's so strange to go back there. I pretty much never do except when Cheri is having an event of some sort. Last time I was there was a year and a half ago when her son graduated from high school. Who knows what will draw me down there next. Probably our 30th class reunion in May!

But it was a great day here for a drive to Logan, sunny and 69 here in Ohio, so I cranked up the 70's station on Sirius, and off I went! While it is weird to go back to where I grew up, I found myself reliving my teenage years while driving down Main Street (in a MUCH nicer car than when I lived there!)(Cheri and I, and everyone else in town, used to cruise Main Street in high school because that's all there was to do!) (Oh wait, that wasn't even my car we were in back then!!)...

Oops, sorry, where was I? Took a detour on Memory Lane!

Anyway, I'm driving down Main Street and talk about the memories flooding back. Soooo many of them. Logan was a great place to grow up, everyone knew everyone else and when I left there in 1979, there was a point where I wanted to marry a hometown boy, move back and raise my kids there. Clearly, that didn't happen! And it's funny now, when I do go back, I see so few faces that I know. Cheri keeps me up to date on all the gossip of course, but I rarely see anyone outside her family that I remember now.

It was kind of funny, when we were in high school, Cheri's dad Leroy didn't have a lot of use for me. After all, she was his very prim and proper, holier than thou daughter, and I was...well let's just say I was considerably NOT those things! I think he tolerated our friendship but he never exactly welcomed me into the family with open arms!!! Over the past 30 years he's learned to like me, and while I don't see him but every few years, he's been very nice to me when he does see me. So today, he was very touched that I came to his party. He said "Did you drive all the way down here JUST for this???" and I said "Yes sir, I would not have missed it, I came just to see you", and he actually got kind of misty and said "That is so wonderful, thank you so much". Later Cheri was teasing him that everybody had to sign the guestbook because they were going to draw a name from it and somebody was going to be taking Leroy home with them...and he said "You make sure you draw Julie's name, I want to go with her!" It made me laugh out loud. I told Cheri "Did you ever think we'd see the day that your Dad was not only happy to see me, but wants to go home with me as well???? What are you people doing to that poor man that he's decided I'm the best option?" We cracked up.

So when I left, I hugged and kissed him and he told me not to stay away so long, and I informed him that since he got all these gift cards for the local steak house, and his kids were already planning to let him take them all out to dinner, that I'd be back for steak! And he grinned at me and whispered "I'll buy yours!" What a sweetie. Wow Cher, I think your Dad and I have finally formed a mutual admiration society!!!!!! Your mother would be so proud!

I made Cheri pose for pictures so here's one of me and her (she was a little annoyed that she'd taken her Tony Stewart shirt off and put "horizontal stripes..bad for pictures" on...and as I pointed out...just wear black like I do, it hides a multitude of sins!)



And here's us with her Mini-Me daughter, Emilee.


The one I took with her son Alex didn't turn out so well...I'll catch him next time.

So, that's how I spent my Sunday. Now I'm home sick as a dog from all the sugar I consumed in Logan. What can I say...Cheri makes THE BEST SWEET TEA (no, Deb...it's not the vodka!) and of course she baked, and nobody does cake like she does. Oh, and that disgustingly good orangey/pinappley punch that had ice cream floating around in it. (Hello! Of course I had some!!) (3 glasses...Emilee kept refreshing my beverage for me) (Ironically her mother used to do the same back in the day but there was usually champagne or amaretto sours involved!) I tried offsetting the sugar with spinach dip and crackers, and her infamous deviled eggs but it didn't work. So I'm suffering..but it was worth it. (Oh, and I brought cake home. She made me...I had no choice.)

What have all of my blogging buddies been doing today??