My Summer Friend

When I was growing up we had the best neighbors.  Two of my favorites were Bill and Myrtle Calvert.  On nice days, Bill would sit outside on his favorite chair and sing praises to the Lord and hymns as loud as he wanted.  It was Bill that taught me the words to Jesus Loves Me.  He always hollered across the road, "You know Jesus loves you!" with a big smile on his face and a wave of his hand.  They were wonderful Christian people.  There is no doubt in my mind that when these two people entered the pearly gates of Heaven, they were met with "well done, my good and faithful servants".

As soon as school would let out for the summer, I would venture out onto the front porch everyday waiting to hear these words from Bill:  "Dena is coming!"  Dena was their granddaughter and my best summer friend.  She was a couple years older than me but I so looked forward to her coming down every year.  I thought that trip from Decatur to Marissa was about the same distance it took to get from the United States to Australia.  I would sit out on the front porch in my terry cloth shorts, tie on tank top, and my pink and white tube socks pulled up to my knees, just waiting, and waiting, and waiting for her to show up.  Finally, that classic red car (for the life of me I can't remember the make or model) would pull into their driveway.  I would wave and then wait some more so she could visit with her grandparents.

Finally, she would come across the street and the summer could begin.  We would swim, and swim, and swim some more.  We also liked to take walks together.  I was so excited when mom thought I was old enough to walk up to main street with Dena all by myself.  We walked up to the Shaw Pharmacy and got a milk shake.  It was there with her that I bought my first item of makeup.  There were trips in the evening to the CreeMee for ice cream and jaunts on the tire swing that hung in the Calvert's front yard.  The best part though, was when Dena got her driver's license and her grandpa let us drive the classic red car down to the Sparta Walmart.  That was the first time I rode in a car without an "adult" and it was the coolest feeling in the world.  All was not good though.  Mom let me stay at the Calvert's one day while she went to the IGA.  She told me to stay in their yard.  Well, when the cats away the mice will play, so Dena and I decided to go for a bike ride.  She was riding her bike while I was on the back (which is also a big no no according to my mom).  While riding a block away, we saw my station wagon (yes, I'm really dating myself in this blog) going down main street heading for home.  We turned around and tried to race mom home.  We just crossed the intersection of the road right when mom turned to come towards the house.  Needless to say, she didn't even take the groceries in or get the kids out of the car and she was across the street dragging my behind home.  Then there was the grounding.  After enduring the few days apart, we were back together again.

Of course, we eventually got older.  Dena stopped coming to visit.  We both went our separate ways.  I was busy with my boyfriend and sports.  She had become a mommy.  I saw her twice whenever her grandparents passed away but we didn't get to visit much during that time.  Quite awhile after I had been on facebook, she requested me as a friend.  I was so happy to hear from her.  She still looks the same as when we were young.  She is now the mother of three and the grandma of one adorable little granddaughter.

Dena made my summers fun and exciting.  It was she that taught me how to put on eyeliner.  It was she that gave me a tape (dating myself again) of the first rap music I ever heard, even though I couldn't understand a word that they were saying.  It was she that introduced me to Seventeen magazine.  It was she that gave me my first training bras.  I don't think she realized how important those summers were to me. For a brief period in my life, I was not only a big sister but I too had that "big sister" that I always wanted.