Summer Flashback

A couple weeks ago I was driving in the car when on the radio they were doing one of those "On this date..." things. On this date 15 years ago, Jurassic Park opened in the box office. I started at the realization that it had been 15 years and then was instantly transformed to that summer. See, Jurassic Park has always had a special place in my heart and that summer even more so.

The summer of 1993, seriously, no competition, the BEST summer of my life.

There couldn't have been more anticipation leading up to this summer ever in my life. I was fourteen years old. I had just completed my Freshman year in High School...



My older brother just finished his Senior year and this was the first year we had gone to school together since elementary school. We even had two classes together, band and swimming. Derrick and I were good friends and this year had been so awesome. Some of his friends even had younger siblings my age and I became really good friends with them. We all just blended together in this big sibling/friend band geek group. It was great. I had been really nervous starting High School since I had been going to a different Junior High in another district and had decided to go back to the school district I belonged to for High School. I had to keep the tradition alive. Being the baby I would be the last one in my family to go there and every one of my siblings had gone there. We had a lot of the same teachers. There was one teacher that had us all. Our band director. Wasn't he lucky?



Back to the point. I just had to get that picture in and a little background. The anticipation to this particular summer came in the form of an announcement from my mother a few weeks before school got out. "We are going on a trip." Not a sign of anticipation, let me tell you, it was the next sentence. "Your father and I. For six weeks. And you kids are going to stay home." Holy crap, play it cool, must not show pure unadulterated joy right now, save it until out of sight. I don't know how any of us manage to play it cool, years of practice, but we did. Oh, the silent celebrations and Toyota jumps around the corner were plenty. Calmed by the realistic approach we had all honed through the years of not counting chickens before they hatched.

Even with trying to restrain our enthusiasm, my one sister who had moved out decided to move home for the summer upon the News. It was arranged that my oldest brother would be allowed to pick up my dads paycheck every two weeks and deposit it so we could pay the bills and, you know, eat. And the formality of who was in charge went to my oldest sister who was married and still living at home while she finished her student teaching. Just for clarification, my closest to age with me brother was just about to graduate from High School even though he wouldn't turn eighteen until November and I was fourteen. But my other four siblings and my brother-in-law were obviously all adults. So it was five adults with two teenagers. It was heaven



We actually took this picture during that summer. The day we all sent to see Phantom of the Opera in L.A. We did some of the best stuff that summer with my parent's money. We shopped at Sam's Club and bought all our food in bulk, but for some reason all I can remember eating that summer is lasagna and taquitos. My dad has never been known for his clean truck so after they left we cleaned it so we would be able to use it. We found $28 in spare change that paid for 28 dollar movies.

The day of their departure was set for the day after graduation. And my party was set for that night. Although everyone was under strict orders that they could not come over until they heard from me, just in case something delayed their plans.



Graduation came and went. And my parents departure went off without a hitch. A cross-country drive that would take them from California to Florida all the way up to Prince Edward's Island and back. With lots of scuba stops on the way. We heard from them a few times, I'm sure, but I have no memory of it.

The party went off well. My friends, swimming and hot tub until like 2 or something. We eventually got bored so we played truth or dare and went toilet papering, of course, like freshmen would. I think most people went home some time around 3 or 4. My first real party was a total success.

We spent the rest of the summer like this...



Or as close to it as possible. One night my brother's friends and my friends were doing a fire on the beach when another group of kids asked if we could pool our wooden resources and make our fires last longer. We agreed and a tradition started. They were from Fullerton about half an hour from us and we agreed to do it again the next week. Imagine my shock one night when one of the guys calls me. I had not given out my number. I wasn't really like that. I didn't really notice guys since they didn't really notice me, I had the handicap of looking ten when I was fourteen. I accepted it. But I had noticed him. He was way too cute to not and he called me.

We spent the rest of the summer getting our friends together at the beach and eventually at my house, hello no parents. It all came crashing down though, as all good things do, when my parents came home. But I never told them about him and kept him to myself. He would still call me but now meeting was a little more tricky.

Then I came up with a brilliant plan. We would go to the movies. I told my mom that I was going to a friends house and my friends said she was going to my house and he picked us up and we went to see Jurassic Park. At the appointed time her mom was going to pick her up at my house we were out front waiting. The catch, she called and said, "I'm coming to get my daughter now." No, your not, my daughter is at your house. We waited outside the front of my house for more than an hour before I finally just went inside to the pandemonium. My oldest sister had already figured out that he was probably involved and since he was seventeen, I was fifteen by now, and so cute he had always made her a little nervous. She finally told my mom what she thought was going on.

So a lot of grounding later for both of us girls, then he went home to get busted for an enormous phone bill. The long distance summer romance kind of ended. It was so great. Just for another clarification, I was sneaking around hiding a "boyfriend" but I was still incredibly shy at that age. If I had met him a year or so later things would have been very different. But it was very innocent regardless of appearances and he was a very nice boy besides very nice looking. I just handled it poorly in the eyes of the adults. I am just saying.

That was and will always be the best summer of my life. And lastly just for fun. My Senior ID...