You Want to Make a Memory Part II

When I was 17, I was allowed to sporadically drive to school. Mostly this was allowed when I had to be somewhere after school and no one wanted to drive me. It was only sporadically allowed because if you think I'm a bad driver now, and boy should you, imagine what I was like when I first got my license. My skill at driving has been compared to a two-year old with her first trike.

My parents kept a tight rein on me. Maybe they thought I'd turn into a raving lunatic who would one day become addicted to morphine and randomly discuss the collection of my urine in a public venue? So if the truck was gone from the driveway, someone knew where I was. Exactly where I was. (Funny story: I was in a grocery store alone for the first time WHEN I WAS A FRESHMAN IN COLLEGE. I had NEVER been in a grocery store by myself before then. I almost had a panic attack.)

One day I drove to school. But when I got there, I noticed this rash all over my body. Everywhere. Seriously. My face. My stomach. My hands. Oh, god. The humiliation.

But it never occurred to me to get in my truck and just drive home. That would have been skipping school. And girls like me didn't skip school. I went to the office and had them call my mom so my mom could tell them I could leave. A normal person would have just left and gone home.

My mom took me to the doctor (boring story about an allergic reaction to a medication I was on - ha!). My sister was in college at that point and was home for the day. So my sister, my mom, and I went out to get ice cream and my mom didn't make me go back to school that day. It was my first experience of playing hooky - doing something in the middle of the day I shouldn't be doing because I should be working. It is a memory I cherish.

The three of us were laughing, windows rolled down, eating ice cream. My mom's hair was whipping all over the place and getting in my sister's ice cream cone. My sister was pretending to be grossed out. My skin was on FIRE and I pretended like I was going to rub the ice cream on it to make it feel better. Livin' on a Prayer came on and we screamed the lyrics out. Tommy whispers baby, it's okay - someday!! The sky was blue, the grass was green, and the trees were budding new leaves.

Next week at this time, I will be playing hooky again. My mom, sister, best friend, and I will be getting our nails done. We'll be picking up the flowers from the florist. I hope the memories I make in the next week or so will be as lasting as those of that afternoon in the spring of 1997.