Girls' Day!!

Yesterday was a great day.  

My two best friends, Sanity and Hope, came over to see the house for the first time, and to see me for the first time since we've moved in.

We met in college, supported each other through college, supported each other through finding teaching jobs, and now all teach in different schools...and get together whenever we can.

Not near enough... but when we can.

It was so great to be able to sit and visit about what we've been up to in our lives, in our classrooms, and so on.  The good thing about not seeing each other for a long time is that there's always tons of stuff to talk about.

Our favorite topic, by far, is our classrooms and school districts.  Sanity and Hope teach in different schools, but in the same school district.  I teach in a completely different school, district, and state... so it's fun to compare and contrast the way stuff is taught from one place to another.  Hope teaches 4th grade - like me - and Sanity teaches 2nd grade. 

The original plan for the day was for them to come over and us all spend the day in the pool.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature had different ideas being that it rained ALL DAY LONG.  The rain gave us cool temps, though, so we were able to sit out on the patio and talk.  

Mother Nature apparently prefers my guests to not swim, because that's the second time this week I've had friends over to swim..and it's rained.

We haven't had much rain this summer, so it figures that the one week I plan all of my get-togethers.. the skies open up for some wet stuff.

It's so great knowing that I have two good friends from college.  I was always told, growing up, that you make your life-long friendships during the college years.  Well, that's definitely true.  Sanity and Hope are definitely what I would consider life-long friends...even if we don't see each other near as much as I'd like.  

The sad part is, they are my only friends that I took away from college.  "Life-long" anyway.  While we were sitting and reminiscing our college days, it all came flooding back how much I really struggled trying to make friends in college.  Sure, I got along with people OK, but I always had this niggling feeling that most of the people that interacted with me did so simply because they felt they had to because of some group project or something...or because they were just being nice.

My Facebook can account for that.

Back in college, I was Facebook friends with most of the people I went to school with and that I had a lot of classes with.  We would message and talk about assignments and stuff we needed for classes or our internship... but no sooner had we crossed that stage and received our diploma, they pretty much all deleted me from their Facebook friends.  School was over, and so was our "friendships".

I still have a handful of people left, but those left I still have some form of contact with...on occasion.  

Butter asked me yesterday why all those people didn't really like me.  Well, my first instinct was to say that they did like me - we just drifted apart after we graduated.  The cold hard truth is, though, they really didn't like me.

I was opinionated.  I was eager to volunteer to speak.  I got assignments done quickly and efficiently.  I had no problem giving my thoughts and ideas.  

Undoubtedly coming off like a know-it-all.

I hated working in groups.  Not because I didn't like the people I had to work with, but because my grades were so important to me... that I often worried about group participation.  And, it was nothing for me to offer to do an entire group project just because I knew it would be done right and it was in my hands.  

Can you say control freak?

Yeah, it wasn't their fault that they could only swallow small doses of me, and felt relief the moment I was out of their lives.

I guess it's good that I know that about myself.  I haven't changed.  I'm still the same overbearing, opinionated, volunteering control freak.

But, there were two women that didn't care.  They took the opportunity to get to know the me outside of school.  The me that can have fun, and let my hair down.  The me that makes people laugh.  The me that was desperate for friendship, but just didn't know how to get it.

That would be Sanity and Hope.

Regardless of what anyone else thought of me, they were always by my side.  

We spent a lot of time together outside of college.  Hardly a weekend went by that we didn't have a night out planned, or a plan to do something after our one day of classes during our internship year.  It didn't matter that we were interning in different schools and only saw each other one day a week... we made up for it.  We were always there for one another to vent, share, and help in any and all situations that called for it.

The honest truth is, I didn't go to college to make friends.  I went to learn how to be a teacher.. the best teacher I could be.  It didn't bother me that others scoffed at my constant hand raising, or volunteering to demonstrate, or my willingness to do all of the work in a group project.  

Sanity and Hope were just an amazing bonus to my college experience.  

I often think about the times I really thought I wasn't going to make it... the times that I doubted myself, even though my personality displayed such confidence.  They always saw right through my persona...and knew when I needed them.

I sometimes wonder if I could have made it without them.  Going through the hardest year of my life as an intern.  Then going through an even tougher year of not being able to find a teaching job.  Constantly doubting myself and my abilities when doors kept slamming in my face.  But, they were always there for me.  No matter what.

Today, Hope is entering in to her 3rd year as a teacher.  Sanity and I are heading in to our second year teaching.  We all accomplished what we set out to do.  I just wish that we got to spend more time together, to see each other more often.  

We don't.

But, it just makes it that much more awesome when we do get the chance to hang out.

Jo