Today I had lunch with two very, very special people. My art teacher from h.s. and also an old friend (and former classmate) who I haven't seen in a long time, LP and Lew respectively.
In high school I was in GT Art (Gifted & Talented) that was an audition only class taught by the talented, insightful, and did I say talented, LP. It's amazing to see my first painting I ever did under her eye and then the last one. She saw her role as a teacher as being able to channel our styles and ideas of art, not mold them to the standards of what ppl expect art to be. She also made sure we got experiences that otherwise, students in Small Town USA wouldn't have been able to see.
We went to Atlanta to see Dale Chihuly's exhibit in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, "Chihuly in the Garden" followed by a trip to the High Museum of Art to see their show of Vincent Van Gogh. (I recall may jokes from one classmate in particular about the irony of an art museum being called "high." I laughed. tehe) Then there were trips to New York City that same year and the next year was Chicago. Amazing experiences that gave me my first look into something outside of my little corner of Southern US (sans the family trip to Washington DC in summer 2002. That was definitely an experience.)
And then there's Lew. Except for the visitation after Mama died, which doesn't count because I was pretty drugged/in-shock so I don't remember, I haven't seen her in over a year. And while it kind of sucks that we never get to see each other more, she is one of those friends where we pick up right where we left off. She's truly an amazing person. In fact I know few people with her kind of conviction, moral code, honesty, and healthy ambition (I say healthy ambition, because ambition can often be considered a very bad, unhealthy, thing).
It was wonderful to see them again. Kind of a mini-reunion I guess you could say. And before Lew got there I was able to tell LP exactly what has been going on in my life. I told her about my plan for the year 2009 that I have to be back in school for that fall, but not without a little dread. I'm always worried how people will react when they find out I'm not going back to school this fall, especially people who's opinions really matter to me. I always dread that look on their face that says, "Sure she's going back to school next fall, that's what everybody says." Because everybody does say that.
So many people leave school and have no intention of going back because they lack the ambition to do so. Sure there's circumstances, etc. etc. But I'm sure a lot of people who leave school, aren't actually going to go back. I don't want to be one of those people. And the look I saw on LP's face this afternoon told me she doesn't think I will be. I must say, that made me feel much better about the decision I made.
Another thing about this lovely lunch was that we didn't meet at an air conditioned cafe, we brought our lunches to the botanical gardens. It was great! I had forgotten how beautiful the gardens are. I also realize that it's the sort of place that you can go when you just want to enjoy nature alone. There were so many people just walking around with their cameras, but then again, you see almost down. The perfect public garden to go when you're feeling anti-social. I have a feeling I'll be spending several Sunday afternoons there in the future.
Not this upcoming Sunday though, because we're going to Virginia. I'm actually sort of excited about going. The past few visits I have dreaded it completely, due to family tension that I don't feel like spending the next three hours writing about. But I feel like a lot of that tension has subsided, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with my grandparents. They're getting older, and I'm starting to realize that, besides them being my grandparents, they are the people who knew Mama, kind of the last link I guess you could say, to her childhood and her past. Wow, that's a rather numbing thought...
But anyway, this was a lovely day for a reunion. And now I'm going to do laundry and force Sarah and Bobby to go on a short bike ride when it cools off a little outside. And then tomorrow work....(UGH).
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