Memory Lane, Circa 1985 . . .

The only thing standing between Zach and his driver's license is his missing birth certificate. I thought about just ordering a copy but, because I'm not a big fan of spending money, I decided to search through the attic in the hopes of finding the box I filed it away in 17 years ago.

No luck on finding the certificate BUT I did find a big box of treasures from my high school days. Many of the items were yellowed which really makes me feel old but the reality of it is, I've been out of high school for 25 years. Twenty-five years. As I dug through the box of memorabilia, I was transported back to another time and another place. . .

I found my graduation announcement along with my final report card (C is for Calculus. . . ):

I found this pamphlet from Edmonds Community College which is where I had placed all of my future hopes and dreams that never materialized. My friend Pam and I dreamt about being a part of the jazz choir, The Soundsations, at this school and going on to live a life as traveling musicians. I was always sure my future would be in music. . .

We talked about going off to Edmond's all through our Junior and Senior years. We even planned a trip over to audition during spring break of our senior year. But then reality stepped in and Pam received a scholarship to PLU and I received one to NNC. Even then, I really thought I'd marry an evangelist and we would travel far and wide, singing our way across the USA. . . (Truly glad that didn't pan out. . . )

This is the quartet that Pam and I sang in during my last two years of high school. The four of us were great friends and we actually made money by performing singing telegrams. Good times. . .

This plethora of pins cracks me up. Pin collections were pretty big back then. Along with arcades and 501 Levis. . .

I also found a big shoebox of letters from friends who went off on missions right after high school. I had a lot of LDS friends. They called me Nancy Nazarene. . .

Last, but not least, I found the dress I wore to Junior Prom. I had a date with Collin, one of the most popular boys in my class (Ok, in my choir class), and I was very excited about finding the perfect dress to wear. I don't think my parents were broke or anything but I remember REALLY wanting a real dress for prom (my older sister wore hand made gunny sack dresses to her dances which was actually a cool thing in the late seventies and early eighties but not so much in 1984!) and knowing that it was an unnecessary expense. I didn't even really expect my mom to take me shopping for a dress but she did. I remember the day very clearly. She acted as though money were no object and let me browse and choose whichever dress I wanted. I don't remember how much it was but I'm thinking it was close to $60. That was a small fortune back then (I probably wouldn't spend that much on a dress for myself today!!) and I treasured my light blue, off-the-shoulder satin dress with the puffy sleeves:

It looked much better back in 1984:


I also found a bunch of old diaries and journals that I should probably burn and won't publish here but I'll share this funny poem that I wrote in 1983:

It was an interesting trip down memory lane. But, honestly, as much as I hate getting older, I think it would be worse to be 17 again. . .