Porphyrogene!

So, when I was little, I lived in central New Jersey.   My brother is 3 years younger than me, and when he turned 3 we moved to a different house in a better location for my dad’s office commute. 

I’m sure the move made a lot of financial and practical sense, it was a bigger house and much closer to Dad’s work, but looking back now - I realize we left behind several very cool people. 

First of all - there was Jaime-Lee, my best friend from up the street.  I cried the whole day we were moving except for the 5 minutes when Jaime-Lee came over to say goodbye and gave me a my little pony whose tail swung in a circle if you wound it up.  It was the sweetest going away present, ever.  I visited her once or twice after we moved, but we were no longer geographically close… so we drifted apart quickly.  I am currently convinced that if I could only find her on Myspace or Facebook or some other social networking website that we would be the best of friends.  The trouble is that the majority of girls named ‘Jaime-Lee’ are blond, and who KNOWS if they wore glasses when they were six, so I let the urge to find her slide until I remember it one day and furiously search the internet for her, reluctantly give up again and allow the process to cycle once more.

Second of all, but probably best, is Fay.  There was this magical spectacular Mary Poppins of a woman who would help my mom out with babysitting and general stuff around the house.  She lived a couple of doors down, she was retired and a cute little grandma, and she would watch a lot of the neighborhood kids.  I don’t remember a whole lot of specifics, but what I envision now is my mom looking back on those times with a warm smile and a longing that tells me Fay was a gift from the Heavens.  Apparently one of my first phrases ever was "Boops on, walk fay!" which meant "Please, ma’am, put my boots on and take me for a walk at your nearest possible convenience."  I don’t actually remember every saying that, but I do remember one very specific, very special outing.  One of the things Fay talked about when I was little, was taking me on a shopping trip where I could buy ANYTHING I wanted - Anything at all!  It was a mind-boggling concept to me at the time… I would get glassy eyed and space out, my mind reeling at the possibilities!  So one day she told me I was finally enough of a big girl that we were going to go on that trip.  I think the timing also happened to coincide with packing up the house and getting ready to move and was probably a bid to keep me otherwise occupied while they unceremoniously shoved my stuffed animals into suffocatingly small cardboard boxes… and thus ending the era of Fay.  Nevertheless, I was extremely excited.  We took the bus to a mall and walked around.  We had Roy Rogers fast food.  And, I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but in one of the department stores, in a bin that was near to the ground, I found a plastic hair comb that had a rainbow in the plastic with glittery sparkle goodness all baked in.  When I picked it up and looked at Fay, she didn’t even hesitate.  We went directly to the counter, and she bought it for me.  I couldn’t even believe my good fortune.  It was the only thing I asked for that day.  On the day when I was offered anything my heart desired, told that she would buy for me anything I wanted… All I wanted was this little plastic comb with a glitter rainbow on the handle and I stared at it all the way home thinking it was the most beautiful thing I would ever own.

I was married about a year and a half ago.  About six months before I got married I went to try on wedding dresses and I went to a store, with my mom, that was very close to where we used to live - where fay (somewhere in her late 80’s) still hangs out.  My mom called her up and invited her to join us.  My last clear memory of her was that shopping trip, and here I was, all grown up, engaged, and trying on wedding gowns.  She was not the tall, radiant angel I remembered.  She was older and much shorter than me now, but she was so sharp and so with it!  It was a little awkward, and a little weird, but all I really felt was love for her.  I wish I had been able to express it more clearly. I wish I hadn’t thought it would be too… stupid or out of the blue to bring up a little white comb with a glitter rainbow.

I now realize that she wasn’t rich and if my 6-year-old self had demanded a 50" TV or a pony, she wouldn’t have been able to afford it.  But somehow the only thing in the world I desired was this rainbow glitter plastic comb… and that incredible indulgence is one of my sweetest, coolest childhood memories.

Thank you Fay.