Parenting from Scratch» Blog Archive » Wayback Wednesday: Shout-out edition

February 10th, 2010 by Brooke

This was on one of our hikes. I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but I think we did a 13k. If you look closely, you can see my pre-braces snaggletooth that we all hope Sadie doesn't get. And you can sort of see the last of my blonde hair, before it all turned totally brown.

This is a special shout-out WBW, for my childhood BFF, Mary. The first time we met was at a high school football game when we were 10 or 11. I told some stupid joke about thumbs (acting like I don’t remember it, but really I just don’t want to horribly embarrass myself), and–not surprisingly thanks to my joke–it took another year or so for us to become friends.

Mary’s dad’s job moved her family to Dallas after we finished the seventh grade, and this picture was taken in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado that summer. Her family went (and still goes, I believe) to Estes Park every summer. This particular summer it was just the two of us girls with her parents–much to my relief, as I was always intimidated by her brother, Tom, who picked on Mary like nobody’s business. It was one of the best trips I’ve taken anywhere. My aunt was totally shocked when I asked if I could go, because the plan was to do some serious hiking, and up until that point I wasn’t exactly known as someone who liked to exert myself physically or to be warmer than climate-controlled room temperature. The Blackfords may remember differently, but I think I was a champ through the hiking. Not so much on the mountain bike excursion. Which is a story Mary’s dad even recalled–in front of people I didn’t know–at Mary’s wedding about a year and a half ago. Yeah, yeah, yeah… so I might have pretended my gears weren’t working, and I might have had to walk my bike up the mountain most of the way, while Mary (the epitome of fitness) cruised on up. I just kept waiting for Mary’s mom to drive by and offer to pick me up. No such luck. I’ll never live that one down, apparently.

Anyway, Mary and I did a great job keeping up with each other with near-annual visits all the way the way through high school. We’ve hardly seen each other since then, but we were able to make it to each others’ weddings, which I think was fantastic. Mary, her husband and their dog live in Washington, D.C. now, and I hope that someday they’ll get to meet Sadie. So, Hello, Mary!

3 Responses

Liza Smith writes:
February 10th, 201010:49 amat

I love the new blog. I have an award for you on my blog if you would like it.

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Mary Prosser writes:
February 11th, 201011:43 amat

Brooke — I absolutely love this post (but maybe I’m a little bit biased). Seriously, this picture brings back so many memories of us. My parents definitely still talk about our “little” biking excursion, and I’m pretty sure they have named you the best sport for putting up with the typical Blackford family vacation (i.e., waking up at 5:30 and hiking/biking for 5 hours whilst carrying a backpack that is bigger than you). I can’t believe it has been so long since we lived in the same place (it really doesn’t seem that long ago that we were cruising around in the jeep doing Chinese Firedrills). Between our drives back to Dallas (which inevitably take us through Little Rock), we will have to find an excuse to meet up so that we can meet Sadie in person!

Thanks so much for the shout out — definitely made me smile. Tell everyone hello for me.

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- Brooke writes:
  February 12th, 20101:02 pmat
  
  I thought you would like it! Please DO let us know when you’re passing through town. Trevor has family in Dallas, and he wants to visit them sometime soon–maybe we can plan a trip when you’ll be home or something.
  
  Reply