Written @ 9:22 a.m. on 2007-05-18
Porch Swing
Last night was an adventure. I have a friend that I met while we both worked doing tech support. She and another girl and I became a tight treo until the third side of our triangle moved to florida. My friend's father nicknamed her Snowflake, because, the only girl in a family of boys, she was so delicate she might melt! Ha! Not the Snowflake I know. They are working class people from New Jersey, and they'll punch you in the nose before they give you the time of day...but Snowflake has been there for me a dozen times in a pinch. Love her.
Snowflake works nights for the extra pay, and was out a sitter last night for her 7 year old girl and 10 year old boy. SO, even though it was a school night, and MY mom NEVER would have, I brought the girls over for a slumber party with Snowflake's dynamic duo. Yay! At around eight, I dressed my girls in matching nightshirts, they grabbed their blankets and of course, a stuffed animal, and we all hiked it over to Snowflake's. She brought an inflat-a-bed into the living room, and we all camped out in the livingroom and watched the most horrible movie ever made, SLEEPOVER. If you find it in the video store, burn it. Not copy/burn it. I mean set it on fire.
After the children were asleep it started to rain a real hard driving rain. I wasn't sleepy, so I sat on Snowflake's front porch swing wrapped in a blanket and watched the rain come down. B. called to say he would stop by and give me a kiss, and sitting on the swing, babies sleeping, waiting for my man and watching the rain was the most wonderful feeling. It's true about the little things. That moment was pure heaven.
B. came by, showing me his fresh bruises from wrestling, and joined me on the swing. We could see from where we sat, on a narrow one-way street of tidy rowhouses, the house that B. grew up in. He pointed out the window that was his when he was little, and told me about the neighbors he grew up with. The neighborhood has changed since most of the factories closed. Low income NYC has moved in to fill the vacancies. It has changed from pennsylvania dutch factory workers to mostly puerto rican service workers. B.'s parents took part in the white-flight and moved to the west end, a greener, leafier section of the city. The new people are much poorer than the previous generation. They rent, they don't own the houses like the previous generation, and the neighborhood deteriorated. It used to be you were born and died in the same neighborhood, but now people come and go and don't love their streets like before. The city has experienced a lot of race hatred and animosity since these changes took place. Funny thing is, B. IS part puerto rican, but of a wealthier class. The rich puerto ricans hate the poor puerto ricans who hate the middle class whites...shrug. Yo hablo espanol y ingles, y estoy amigos con todos la gente! Me amo todos! :)
*** Translation: I speak spanish and english, and I am friends with all the people. I love everybody!*****
B. and I decided we definately must have a porch swing someday. I hope we grow old together, sitting on a porch swing watching the rain. I really do love everybody. I LOVE EVERYBODY!!! It's so great to be in love, and have a porch swing.