As suggested by friend Chris Spiro on her blog, I’m playing the Memory Tag game.ÂÂ
Here’s how you play:
1. As a comment on this blog post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory of you.
It’s actually pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.
And if you know Chris, be sure to post a memory on her blog!
My favorite memory of you (since I only know you a little…) is how excited I was when you first posted a comment on my blog! I don’t think my blog actually has many readers (because it’s really nothing interesting, yet) and I had been reading your blog, along with Michelle, and Erica’s blogs for a while. So right after I had gained the courage to start leaving comments on their blogs, I had one from you. I remember being so proud that my little blog was being read by someone who has a great blog =) It was a good day for me, even though my husband thinks I’m a lunatic for reading the blogs of people I don’t know, but if I find something interesting, I’m going to read it!
“Thanks for noticin’ me”
-Eeyore
Thanks for playing Allison! I am always surprised when people 1) actually read my blog 2) do what I ask them to do on my blog.
Memories of Allison: I remember being in awe of you when I was 8 or 9 or so–you were beautiful and blonde and popular and had a ton of fun with my sister. I loved being in your bedroom (when permitted) and looking at all your neat stuff in there. And of course, our trip to Canada and you taking a million pics of the trip that we are all blown away by. Thanks for your nice memories of me. 🙂
Hm… a memory of my mother. Let me think…
Ahh- here’s one:
I remember when you were going through a hard time in your life, so you were prone to irrational outbursts. You were a bit stressed, you went to the fridge to eat your brownie that you’d been saving for the “right moment”, only to find that it had been eaten (not by me). You slammed the fridge and yelled “WHO ATE MY F***ING BROWNIE?!?!??”
Only now that I have experienced life a bit more do I COMPLETELY understand this behavior. I nearly said the same thing about my Ben & Jerry’s Phish Phood ice cream a while back. Justin was a bit frightened.
But I also remember how supportive you have always been of me. And I always knew you would be supportive and loving whatever I decided. You told me that, even if I decided I were a lesbian, you would love me and fully support me.
Thank you for your support. You have always been a fabulous mother.
Well it is unfortunate that I haven’t had a chance to be around Allison more in my life. A cousin of the same age can be a good ally. And she has been since we’ve had a chance to interact online.
I can’t decide if my favorite memory is the time in Idaho when we were IM’ing back and forth, and she was (I think the term was swishing) me to get me in balance (a strange ritual that I can’t remember the process of).. But she asked me to swish her, and told me the process…. I can’t remember exactly how it went, but I did it wrong and was afraid I’d messed her brain up… and we laughed about that…
Or the time right after I moved to NY, and I had such a bad headache. I was living in Queens then, and my room was dark…even with the light on. I took some Tylenol and tried to lie down.. The pain was so bad I got up and took more.. And I ended up taking 2 or 3 every hour for the next 3 or 4 hours. I was completely restless and just wanted to sleep it off. Then around 1 am I discovered that I hadn’t been taking Tylenol all that time, I’d been taking NoDoze, which was in a bottle with a label that had the same colors as the stupid Tylenol bottle. With my bad eyes and dark room, I’d od’d on caffeine. No wonder the headache was worse and I couldn’t sleep. I was pinging off the walls. I got no the family website and put a message on there that if anyone was awake and wanted to chat, to call me. And a minute later, the phone rang.. and we had a nice talk for an hour or so… and as always,,,, much laughing..
This is fun : )
Ashley I can’t believe you posted the effing brownie episode… lol…. that was the first time you guys ever heard me say that word and it shocked the hell out of you as I recall. You know, sometimes completely losing it can be very therapeutic 🙂
Ash and Kaylyn, are you going to post this game on your blogs? Or shall I post my memories of you here? I’ll give it a day to see what you do 🙂
Rob, I still can’t believe it was NoDoze you were taking! LOL….
A memory of Rob…
One of our only times spent together in our youth (6th grade)- the trip we made to the Spokane World’s Fair, and our stop in Cour d’alene at your home. We had a cousins baseball game (where I twisted my ankle) – and you and I were really concerned that little Amorette get a chance to bat and run around the bases. The other kids wanted to just get her “out” so they could win – and the two of us had fits and demanded they go easy on her. We were in cahoots even then!
I think it might be time for another swishing!
I’m definately playing this on my blog, I think this is a fabulous idea! So much fun!!
Oh good grief, how could I only pick one memory. It’s impossible, my entire teenager-hood is full of you. Hmmmm, if I could only choose one, it would be me going with you to Acapulco in a 4 man plane! (or was it 6) We were around 16 and basically had the run of the massive hotel. We ordered drinks by the pool and pretended we were spys in the elevators (even cutting holes out of newspapers…so stealth) I just remember NON STOP giggling and having fun. I won’t tell the story of how sick you became on the home trip, plane sick. I remember the Mexican hotel workers were smitten with your hair, and wanted to take pictures of it. You even talked me into para-sailing (you were always more adventuresome). Anyway, it was the perfect trip.
I too have so many wonderful memories of Allison. The one that comes to mind is of Allison and I sitting in the living room of the house that I had shared with my late husband and had raised my son and two daughters in. It was shortly after my youngest daughter had died from injuries she had sustained in a car accident. Needless to say it was a sad time and as we talked we became a little morbid. Fortunately, each of us had a great sense of humor and we decide that we were a bunch of F…g pathetic women! we continued the conversation, refering to ourselves an fpw, when Allison ( who was also going through a difficult time, it must have been the brownie era) had an idea. We were fpw’s but we were going to become FPW’S, effing Powerful Women, and guess what ? Two of the three made it! I’m still a work in progress. Allison, you have always been there for me and if I really get brave I will tell the rest of the story sometime.
And now for something completely different (As the monty python group would say). I have a very lovely memory of Allison’s trademark kindness that I want to share. When my husband was dying, Allison took me out for a few hours just to “get away for awhile”.
We ended up at the Cottonwood Mall and browsed the merchandise in a home furnishings boutique. While we were there I saw a picture of a pastoral river scene that looked so much like a particular place in England where I had spent many happy hours as a girl and teenager. I commented on it to Allison and told her that it reminded me of “home”. To my great surprise and over my objections Allison promptly bought the painting for me ( And it was not cheap!). She told me that at this difficult time in my life when all attention was focused on my husband, and I was working and taking care of him and generally “Burning the candle at both ends” I needed something beautiful in my life. I will never forget that evening nor will I ever forget Allison’s kindness, since I had not one person in my life at that time (At least in Utah) that gave a damn about me. Thank you Allison, you truly are a beautiful person, inside and out.
And I love you.
My favorite memory of you would be one night when we were having a family dinner at Grandma Rene’s. I was discouraged and not feeling very good about myself. You helped so much by naming a whole long list of good qualities that you see in me. 🙂 Thank you very much!!
I’m so grateful for these memories being shared…. and now for some responses.
Ashley – since you’re not posting this on your blog, I’ll add a memory of you here… there are so many it’s hard to choose. But one that is standing out at the moment is when we were at Starfish beach in the Grand Caymans a couple of years ago.
I still smile when I think of what a fun, great sport you are. That whole trip together was a memory I’ll always treasure.
This is a cropped version of the picture 🙂
And Ashley – whether straight, gay, or hermaphrodite, I’d love and support you and fight for your rights!
(Just don’t vote Republican this year! :))
Michelle – that trip to Aculpulco was a dream come true for two 15 year old girls. Other than my airplane traumas on the 12 hour flights in the 6 man plane with no bathroom….
Speaking of which, Kristin & I saw Coy Wood the other day. He has a restaurant in Tacoma, and we happened up on it (quite by accident) and decided to eat there. Had a nice long visit with him.
OK.. and now a memory of you…. I could write volumes. Actually, I have if you count my diaries. The umbrella tree incident is of course a favorite.
And then there is the poof balls at Kevin Hill’s…. and making belly button filters for the neighbors…. and our experience in the haunted house (we were so scary)….
But today’s experience I think will be the fools we made of ourselves (though we didn’t care) by using our bodies to act out food while out on the sidewalk. I was the straight cob of corn, and you were the butter. I think my favorite though was you being the spagetting, starting out straight, and then getting all soft and noodly las you cooked in the water. And then I was the bubbing sauce that bubbled over you….. we were such idiots…. LOL…. I think we need to video tape ourselves doing this nexts time we’re together.
Allison..I remember you with a braid down your back the day before your wedding singing “I;m getting married in the morning” at the top of your lungs… You have always been so full of fun and support (even for an old aunt) I loved our many trips to utah when you lived on Rodeo Lane and the Musical productions you would create for all the Hays and Cornwall kids to do. You have given me great advice, sympathy, encouragement and understanding when I needed it. Lets not forget how you and Kristin saved the day for AMorette’s wedding and just for the record…. I LOVED your long blonde wavy hair and bubbling personality.
I am always amazed at your many talents and the courage you had to pull up and move away from family and friends to pursue a life you wanted.
I love you very much.
Oh yes, mother. Thanks for the posting that 🙂 Ahhh…. the cruise was so much fun. I think I could easily do that every year. Thanks to you and Kris for talking me into taking my top off to take those pictures.
I love reading all of these posts. It’s fun hearing about what a wonderful person you are, not that I need to read these to know that. I love you!
Kathy, remember our fabulous “swear word” pins from Casual Corner that accompanied our FPW club? (it had characters like a cartoon would have for expressing an expletive) I loved that and wore it for years until it wore out. People would as “what does it say” and I’d reply, “whatever I want.”
So… a memory of Kathleen…. we have many years worth of memories, and they all seem to mesh into laughter for me. Even in tragedy. In the insanity of Pearce-world, we kept each other sane. My most vivid memories of you are at funerals, standing by the your husband’s casket and shusshing stupid cousins to be quiet so he wouldn’t wake up, and reveling in the shock on their faces. And many other shock-invoking comments…. and hour spent recounting and laughing/crying about it all over again. I simply love your sense of humor, and that you are able to find the humor in the tragedies in life.
And you so needed and deserved that painting. It reminds me of your self-sacrifice and our friendship every time I see it.
Love you too.
Oh it has ben so fun reading the memories of you. I have to say it was great fun experiences many of them second hand as your mom. The tea parties ( all dressed up in my old formals) with Kevin Hill and the Paulson kid. The “monster Mommy” episodes, the belly button filters. Also the days you would come home from school and tell me all that you had put your favorite teacher through ( I’m trying to remember his name, but it is escaping me). He let you get away in class with way too much, I’m sure most of the class was envious of you and wish they could have gotten away with so much foolery. You’ve always been my good friend and been supportive of me as you have with others that have made a post. I love and admire you my dear daughter.