~I remember being small
I remember eating bowl full of cherries given by a grandma long gone
I remember running to the back door and leaping into daddy’s arms when he got home
I remember galloping through the house, and neighing like a horse because I was so obsessed
I remember spending long days at the neighbors’ house, doing things we shouldn’t
I remember acting like the little kittens’ mommy and hunting down baby bottles for them
~I remember my first best friend
I remember when my best friend and I first met and I though she was a boy
I remember her and I making our own radio talk show in my breezeway, recording it on the pink boom box in there.
I remember us screaming and running out of the breezeway when bees came too close
I remember dancing to Britany Spears “Oops I Did It Again”, and pretending we was “Lucky”
I remember hiding in the bunk of the camper when mom came looking for me because I knew I had it coming
I remember having to say goodbye to my best friend for the last time, and never seeing her again
~I remember getting to go to Grandma’s house and being ecstatic
I remember going with her on walks through the cemetery because we were on a health kick that didn’t last long
I remember being forbidden to enter the woods behind the house but doing it anyway
I remember witnessing my grandma really mad at me for the first in my memories after that
I remember her hating any source of dirt in her house and then being shocked when she got two housedogs
I remember her playing the organ as my sister and I danced around the living room
I remember her teaching me songs on the organ, and her being my inspiration to learn more
I remember spending afternoons outside at her umbrella table watching her drink coffee with her “bugged” phone nearby
I remember crawling through the house meowing and her saying “nice kitty” and petting me on the head
I remember spending the night and telling ghost stories to the light of a flashlight in our faces
I remember her getting sick
~I remember getting older
I remember long days at school with loads of homework as a result
I remember my first job and setting a tablecloth on fire on the first day
I remember my first car that I bought with the money from my first job, and being so proud that it wasn’t a granny car
I remember my junior prom and wearing my expensive shoes for thirty minutes at promenade for fear of bloody stubs
I remember getting my second job while still holding onto the first
I remember the confusion of working at a restaurant where hardly anyone spoke my language
I remember not being trained at all as the waitress but just taking my first table of an old lady drinking a cup of coffee
I remember befriending Rogelio who was the only worker there who knew some English, and driving him crazy with all my questions
I remember not remembering how to say “potato burrito” in Spanish and writing down “baked burrito” on the ticket… and never living it down
I remember the restaurant not having a good air conditioner and sweating to death, while the Mexicans never broke a sweat
I remember Rogelio feeling bad for us and buying strawberry fudge pops to cool us off
I remember making a deal to teach him better English if he would teach me better Spanish
I remember going to their house for the lessons and horrifically seeing my unashamed boss in his boxers
I remember a little more than a week later when Rogelio left for North Carolina with little warning and no goodbye
I remember him saying that he won’t tell me goodbye because we might see each other again
~I remember first loves and heartbreaks
I remember my first crush in second grade to the cowboy in the class, and then my first heartbreak when I was considered too homely of a little girl
I remember my first “boyfriend” in third grade, and it not lasting long because of how much our sisters teased us
I remember my first real relationship and the love that comes with it, the excitement of not knowing what is next
I remember how hard it was and still is because of how many miles is between us
I remember constantly texting and calling every spare moment we had
I remember it staying strong
I remember wondering about the future of us.