Blast from the past

I'm back. I know I haven't posted since Monday, but I have a good excuse. Actually, I have a great excuse. I had a little relapse. Okay, a big relapse. My cough got so bad that I had to go for an emergency breathing treatment - so as to continue breathing in and out the way that I have come to enjoy so much. I will tell you that asthma and bad colds do NOT go together. I now have some drugs and a new inhaler that are helping immensely, and I feel like I'm finally on the mend. The good news is that I did not get pneumonia this time, and that is a huge improvement on the last cold.

I've also been feeling a bit down, as the days pass without word from the woman I believe to be my birth mother. She's had the letter for well over a week now, and still no contact from her. I know she may need more time, but each day seems so long as I wait for her to have a change of heart. As time passes, I am more and more sure that she is indeed the right woman. If she wasn't my birth mother, I think she would have already called. I keep hoping that she will - at the very least - provide the medical history I need, and tell me the name of my birth father, although I think this one is less likely. There have to be some painful memories there, and who knows if she can get past them?

While I've been resting/coughing/choking, I have been looking through my collection of photos, picking some out to scan. Hallie over at Wonderful World of Wieners has offered to help me scan a bunch of old pictures with her snazzy new scanner. Isn't she nice? I took the first batch over there on Monday night, coincidentally just before the big relapse. Hmm. I'm sure one thing had nothing to do with the other. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few with you - mostly the ones that Hallie laughed at the most. I'm not even going to pretend that I didn't think they were funny, too.
My brother and I in our snazzy clothes on a snazzy couch with that mod triangle pillow and those groovy drapes. Honestly, what the heck am I wearing? 1960 was a good year for fashion, I guess.

My birthday photo. Don't you love the juxtaposition of the big round collectible plate and my big round head? I especially like the outlet placement. This was taken in my grandmother's kitchen. Some of you may remember that my grandparents lived in an apartment that was part of the big farmhouse I grew up in, so I spent a lot of time on these gray vinyl chairs with the chrome knobby accents. Good times.

There were about a hundred of these photos. Different poses, different outfits. All the same. Those are real roses in my hair, by the way. I remember my mother picking them and being worried about thorns.

Just a bunch of cool teenagers on an exciting double date. I'm the one in that beautiful, hand-sewn red-checked blouse and the high-waisted denim wraparound skirt (also hand-sewn). You can't see it, but that blouse had SNAPS instead of buttons. Say it with me, "WHAT A LOSER!" Also in this shot are my boyfriend, who would go on to become my husband, my friend Vicki and her date Mark. We're making homemade pizza at my house. Notice the high-tech Dixie cup dispenser in my kitchen. I only wish you could see the avocado and orange carpet tiles on the floor. Really. I'm not kidding.

My dorm mates sometime during my freshman year at college. Can you find me in my big perm and my signature Stevie Nicks shirt? You can't tell here, but I was rocking the sleeves-like-wings outfit. I was nothing if not fashion forward. My beloved roommate is in the back row in a tan sweater. She's still one of my favorite people in the world and the closest thing to a sister I ever had.

Okay, now before you pass out from laughing, I want you to know I had a good reason to look like this. Honestly, I did. I was working for a newspaper, and they had a float in the local parade. We were dressed up to look like old-fashioned newsboys, and we carried those canvas sacks and heaved newspapers at the crowd. I know I look ridiculous, but I still think Brandon was the cutest thing ever in his little hat.

This is the one Hallie mocked the most. Me as a giant pink blob. She accused me of wearing a big housedress or my nightgown. First of all, I was at a wedding when I was nine months pregnant. In AUGUST. It was hot and humid and I was lucky to find anything that fit me. I had been allowed up from my ordered bed rest to attend the wedding of a dear friend of mine. I think I looked pretty good, considering the circumstances. Second of all, the dress wasn't that bad. It was actually a pretty pink cotton fabric which had everything one needs in a maternity dress: it breathed, and it fit over my giantness. Here's another view of it:

See? Not that bad, right? Okay, the big wide collar was kinda hideous, but that was the style back then. I don't care, anyway. It was the last photo taken of me with my one little boy before I had two little boys, and it makes my heart contract just looking at it. That's what is so good about looking at old pictures - it helps you remember those special moments. And it gives you the opportunity to have a good laugh, even if it is at your own expense!