Today while bustling about the internet I found my grade 1 class photo online. I am in the back row, 5th from the left in the red dress.
It was grade 1 that I learned "The Pancake Song" for Shrove Tuesday. Every time I make pancakes for my nephews and niece I torture them with the song.
But the fondest memory I have from grade 1 is the first day of school. Mrs. Wallace was taking attendence and got to the bottom of the list. She looked up and around, and said "The little Cole girl is not here." Mere seconds after she said that, there was a knock on the door and a little girl was standing there with her Mom. Mrs. Wallace spoke to the Mom, welcomed the little girl into the class, and introduced her as Mary, the new student who would be joining our class. More than 33 years later I am still talking to that little girl, and she has the claim to fame of sharing my longest standing friendship with me.
I'm not sure how we became friends, or stayed friends for so long. Mary is very quiet and follows the rules almost to a "T". I am more outgoing and have a tendency to re-word the rules to suit my needs. That's not to say I do anything illegal, I just push the boundaries out as far as I can and hope I don't get caught. Of course, there were times in elementary school that I pushed the boundaries too far. Mary was my sidekick, and I was the reason that Mary served detentions in elementary school.
I straightened up quite a bit when I went to high school, and we got into a lot less trouble. But I still managed to force her to push her boundaries. Like the time we went to the fair, got some helium balloons, breathed in the gas and talked with those crazy funny voices. Immediately after, I forced her to go on a ride. I'm not sure if it was the helium, the bacteria ridden fair food, or the ride, but within seconds of getting off she puked. In an effort to hide my laughter, I ran off to get some napkins so that she could clean herself up. It was the least I could do for her.
She and I had lunch recently and reminisced about the time we were bored, decided to buy a coconut, drove to a shopping mall parking lot, sat in the middle of a parking space and tried to open it in front of a little crowd that gathered to watch what we were doing. I also reminded her of the time I was driving her Dad's car and almost rolled it - Volkswagen Rabbits don't corner well at 50 km/h!
At the end of high school most people go off to different schools and lose touch with their friends over time. Mary and I were both accepted into the Science Faculty at University of Waterloo and our paths stayed crossed for a while longer. We were roommates for first year and half of second year. Every night we did not have class we would de-stress by watching Jeopardy and keeping score. I think she won more than me, but its hard to remember now.
I was her maid of honour at her wedding, she was a bridesmaid in mine. I visited her in the hospital after the birth of her first child. She was at the funeral when my Dad passed away. She offered condolences when she learned that I was getting a divorce.
Though we are not as close as we used to be, our friendship has withstood all that time has thrown at us. She remained in the town where we first met while I packed my bags and moved off to the bright lights of the big city. Although our lives are very different, we still share a common childhood and a common bond. We can go for months, perhaps even years without speaking to each other, then get together for lunch as if it was yesterday since we last saw each other.
Tomorrow is a very special day. Tomorrow is Mary's 40th birthday and I want to take this opportunity to remind her that I am still in my 30's (Sorry Mary, I just had to get a jab in there somewhere!)
But I really want to say thank you for always being there for me during good and bad, for adding a perspective that is different from my own, and for ensuring that I did not serve as many detentions in elementary school as I could have.
Have a very special Happy 40th Birthday, Mary!
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