Hibernate Blog

We met in the 6th grade. Two complete opposites: I was lanky, freckly, and quiet; She was voluptuous, dark and spoke what was on her mind, always embarrassing me in public. (The girl is half Greek/half Italian). We grew up in a small New England town and both shared a constant uneasiness with our surroundings. We couldn’t wait to get the hell out. During life science class early in the 12th grade we had formulated our plan… never mind these cold, snowy winters – we were going somewhere warm! (it was also the only place we knew existed outside of our town because we saw people party there on MTV).

In June 1988, ages 17 and 19, we packed the Ford Escort and Chevy Camaro and hit 95 South to Daytona Beach. Mercifully, my mom and dad drove with us to help with the drive, but mostly to try and give us the best chance at survival. We sat through 20 lectures from my father, including his demonstrative course and dissertation in self defense. My mother helped us hang curtains, clean and grocery shop. But she mostly cried. And cried and cried. I still harbor enormous guilt over the pain my mother must have gone through. (I’ve told Sara she is living with me until she is 40). But my mom knew I’d go with or without her blessing. Tina and I were stubborn and determined and had wings we wanted to fly.

As so there we were. We had $500, no jobs and our very own cockroach-infested kitchen stocked with Ramen Noodles, cheese, and Hi-C. We were psyched!!

Who the heck were we kidding?! Fast forward 10 months. Between us we’d gained 40 lbs from the 2-for-$1.00 noodle diet, held and lost 6 jobs, witnessed a drug-bust outside our bedroom window, battled hundreds of cockroaches (including one burrowing in my hair), been robbed by a prostitute, narrowly escaped a nasty car accident, gone through 2 other room mates (one turned out to be a thief and the other was awesome but had a nasty illegal drug habit), eluded a very creepy guy on campus, were living in our 3rd place (including my car for a few days), my hair was falling out and we had no money. The thrill was officially gone.

Fast forward 20 years. Tina and I find ourselves in NYC at Cassidy’s Pub on W 55th, reminiscing and laughing hysterically over a 4-cocktail lunch, texting our friend Adam in Chicago like high-schoolers. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time! We broke some rules and certainly were acting like fools, but it’s New York – no one noticed anyway. We ate, drank, were pampered at a salon, people-watched and shopped. For 36 hours we escaped our reality and acted like a 17 and 19-year-old, leaving the responsibility of motherhood behind for just a little bit. The thrill was back. My BFF Tina – thanks for the laughs!

Professional iPhone photo

Adam, this one’s for you