35 Years

I was lucky enough to spend the weekend with these amazing women. It's hard to believe that have been in my life for 35 years now. We all worked at Fort Mackinac in the late 80s and early 90s.

For years we  always got together once or twice a year, but over the last few, we let life get in the way of our get togethers. And then, our number got smaller. Our dear friend, Chandra, passed away unexpectedly last spring. 

So we have renewed our promise to get together as often as we can.

Not every one of us can make it every time we meet, but we've decided to do the best we can since we never know what tomorrow may bring.

Kelaine, Rachel, Michelle, and Shannon - thank you. Thank you for making our friendship a priority; thank you for sharing your joys and frustrations and listening to mine; thank you for a weekend full of love and laugher; but most of all, thank you for 35 wonderful years of friendship! I can't imagine my life without each and every one of you.

I Love Mackinac

Sometimes it's the little things about Mackinac Island that make me smile. Little things like the picture above. This young man, his siblings, and his parents were having dinner out at the Mustang the other day, and while they were waiting for their food, the kids popped over to another table to paint. I've never seen something like that on the mainland, but scenes like this are fairly common on Mackinac in the winter. It made my heart happy because not one person batted an eye - not the server, the other patrons, or the manager. 

It reminded me of the time my daughter and I went to breakfast at the Mustang years ago. She was about five and wanted to sit up at the "counter," A.K.A. the bar. I patiently explained, that people under 21 weren't allowed at the bar, but we could sit at any other table because we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time. The owner came over and told K that she could sit at "the counter" this one time because no one else was there and that was the only time it was allowed.  She was so incredibly happy.

 It was such a little thing, but it made her day.

My Funny Valentine

Out of the mouths of babes...

But, truth be told, there are occasional days where "tolerating the B.S." is what parenting teenagers is all about. Luckily those days are few and far between.

Changes

As I was cleaning out a closet the other day, I came across a box full of notes I'd saved from high school. Don't ask why I saved them - I really don't know, other than I tend to be a packrat... 

As I sat on my bedroom floor reminiscing and happily attempting to decipher the handwriting of my high school friends, it struck me; neither of my children have experienced the simple joy of finding a page-long, hand-written note in their locker. Nor have they ever been quickly handed a note in the hallway while they rush to class. Of course they don't write notes any more - kids text. Even in our little school with only 30 high school students, who are always together - they text, or use Snapchat. 

Writing a note took time - it took commitment and you didn't do it for just anyone. A page-long, hand-written note only went to someone who mattered to you; maybe that's why I saved them. It makes me wonder if any of the notes I wrote back in high school are in the back of someone else's closet. 

As silly as it sounds, I'm really glad I didn't grow up with a smart phone in my pocket.

Teenager

Hey there. A few days ago my little blog became a teenager. Yup, The Quilted Turtle turned 13 on February 10th. 13 years, 1,026 posts, and more pictures than I can count. Not to mention all the wonderful comments I've received and friends I've made...

This  tiny turtle my son caught back in 2017 seemed like a perfect picture to celebrate today.

Back in the Day: The Library

I was going through old photos the other day and came across this picture of the Library building that use to be on the property of Mission Point Resort.

I took this picture in 1989 during the first summer I worked on the Island. I think that was the only summer it was there (while I was) because I seem to remember it being torn down in the early 90s. I don't think it had been maintained very well and the architecture certainly wasn't very "Mackinac."

Back in the Day: Visiting Paris

Last spring, as I watched the news coverage of Notre-Dame burning, I started thinking about my visit to Paris. It took a while, but I finally managed to find a few pictures from that trip. It seems funny now, but I remember building money for film developing into my budget - enough for 10 or 15 rolls of film. At the time that seemed like so many pictures, but I took almost 1,500 pictures during the two weeks I spent in Iceland this past summer.

The summer I was 16, eight girls from my Girl Scout troop spent a month traveling around Europe. (We spent time in London, England; Paris, France; Munich, Germany; Venice, Italy; Salzburg, Austria and Adelboden Switzerland.) Our troop operated a Gift Wrapping Booth at the local shopping mall and believe it or not I managed to raise the $800 I need for the trip working there. (The trip actually cost $1,600 but my parents agreed to split the cost with me. I earned my $500 spending money by babysitting. Babysitting at $2.00 or $3.00 an hour no less.)

Nerdy uniforms, I know. But we only wore them on border crossing days. Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Gallagher traveled with girls every summer and they learned quickly that uniformed Scouts moved through customs much quicker than run-of-the-mill teenagers did.

I remember loving the gargoyles  up on Notre-Dame. My daughter is super envious of this picture. When she went to Paris a few years ago with my mom, they weren't allowed to touch them. 

As I look back on that trip, I feel pretty darn lucky to have gotten to visit before the fire...