Twenty Three

Is it a bad sign that I can't remember my twenty third birthday? I think it must have been over spring break when I was in the Dominican Republic with the fam.

That spring was really my last semester taking classes full time. I remember many fun parties at the end of that school year(nice picture- definitely three sheets). At one of those parties is where I met Alex, but I didn't think much of it until he called me the next day to ask me out. We met at the union and had a fabulous time dancing to a live reggae band. It was an intense romance for the two weeks we were still in school. He was just graduating and was on his way down the Mississippi River from St. Paul, Mn to New Orleans on a raft with some friends. Yes, you read that right, and no, he (nor I) was on crack although it may seem like it now. I was off on a trip to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a while, visit SMB in Indiana and a few other friends along the way. I was totally into Alex and really disappointed that summer plans made having a relationship difficult.

That summer I lived in Duluth for about half of it and worked at Duluth Pack. NL and I did a lot of exploring on nights or days off together. We demo'd solo Bell Canoes in the bay, we paddled the upper St. Croix (and nearly got lost in the tall grass). A highlight was our exploration on Palisade Head (see picture) and then camping by the lake (although I kept waking up and thinking the tent was getting hit by waves). That summer DrMI was a camp counselor a few hours from Duluth and I remember exchanging long letters- especially about the Derrek situ. :)

My roommate, KCL had graduated in the spring, so when I moved back to Madison in mid-July, I moved in with KS and CG in K's house. It was nice living there. For the rest of the summer, I was taking a Native Americans class, I was running daily the 3 miles out to Picnic Point, I was a member of the sailing club and out on Lake Mendota often. I also was a camp counselor for gifted and talented kids from around Wisconsin at Beloit College for about a month(picture). That summer KS got married and I was a bridesmaid so I remember scrambling home from camp to be in the wedding. I was also a bridesmaid that fall in my cousin J's wedding. It was probably one of my favorite summers, although I spent a lot of it pining for Alex who would call and email randomly, just about when I was ready to be over him.

For some reason I remember the Labor Day of that weekend really well. DrMI and N came to visit and so did SMB. K and C were around and Courtney and Jim were there, too. All in the same house. We went sailing, to the union, to Mickey's Dairy Bar, to the country club swimming, (how did that happen? I can't remember) and I think we also played tennis that weekend. I remember sitting up and talking with DrMI late one night. It probably one of the funnest weekends I have ever had with friends.

That fall I started student teaching at the middle school on the East side. Alex returned from the River trip and after lots of "talks", drama, and "friends with benefits" we split up. It was a good thing, even though I didn't realize it at the time. I learned so much about boys from that long drawn out experience- now I think it was totally worth it. Plus Alex introduced me to one of my most favorite artists ever- Martin Sexton. Ironically now after seven years he is a really good friend.

During student teaching part II, I learned that I was never going to be a middle school teacher. I was pretty good at it, but really did not like it. I remember the girls being obsessed with what I wore and telling me who they had crushes on and some of the boys having crushes on me. I just couldn't figure out how to be super touchy-feeling and not care about what they learned. How crazy. The thing that was most important to me that year was meeting my friend and mentor, Linda. She worked in my classroom as the special education teacher and was the most wonderfully caring person I have ever known. She influenced me in some of the greatest ways anyone ever has, I remember having conversations with her about dating, marriage, running, politics, teaching, families, and just about anything else. She and her husband would often have me over for dinner and cook me crazy things like tofu pop-overs. It was great fun. I was so blessed to have met Linda. Although she was only about 10 years older than me, she had a fatal disease called scleraderma. Linda died last winter, and this world is a less happy place because of it. I think of her almost all of the time. Many of the things she told me then still help me make decisions today.

Linda and Paul introduced me to Paul's brother, Eric, who I started dating that winter. Eric was, and still is, quirky and fun. We had a good time together- going skiing in Montana and trips up north in Wisconsin to the cabin. That was also a learning experience about boys. I really thought that we might stay together for a long time, forever, in fact. But am really glad we didn't. I had a lot left to learn and do and I am glad I got to do it on my own.

I finally graduated that winter with two majors and a few other things tacked on. I was glad to be done. I moved out of K's house when she sold it and DrMI and I moved into an apartment. It was fun to live together- we had a cute apartment. She was working at the hospital and I was substitute teaching. That is also when I adopted Leo, who did not get along with Inga, unfortunately. I remember a lot of things from that apartment: Locking Leo out on the front porch, meeting Kristin (do you remember her, K?), Kayt going through serious depression (really, really upsetting), working with Ian, looking for teaching jobs (I hated that part) and having DrMI's beau(s?) visit.