[Want to catch up…posts #1 and #2 are here]
Our senior year was a little different. I had moved on to my practice teaching, she was finishing up classes and since I am a slight over achiever, I had credits from high school and summer school which made me graduate early.
After graduation, I moved out and moved home to take a teaching job in S. Florida. Jenny and the rest of the bunch were finishing up their internships and applying for jobs and looked forward to graduation.
Graduation at Flagler happens in mid-April so there was only about 4 months that I was “separate” from the group and I kept in touch via hour long phone calls that thankfully my Dad never complained about. [Remember long distance?]
During this time, Jenny and I planned the quintessential college graduation trip to Europe. We were planning on leaving the day after her baby sister graduated from high school We spent hours writing letters, making plans and talking on the phone while we grazed through our “Let’s Go” Europe book. We talked trains vs. planes, museums vs. bars and generally we were ready to take our next big leap into the horizon.
I went back for graduation and had an amazing time with each of my girls. I had made these awesome calendars for Jenny & Betsy with pictures from our years together and little notes about what they should “do” on a particular day to stay in touch. Most of the girls were planning on staying in St. Augustine, so I was going to be off all alone until Europe.
My last memory of the group was sitting under a big old tree at the Fort, eating everything bagels on the most beautiful day St. Augustine had ever offered me. I specifically remember walking back to my car, hugging Jenny and pulling away. If I had known then what I know now, I would have lingered just a little longer, held on a little tighter and looked directly at that beautiful smile one last time.
