Thursday, February 4, 2010

It was like totally awesome

My daughters are going to an event this weekend called 80's Prom. I think it's really just an excuse to dress in all the timeless fashion trends of that decade.


This picture is from last year's party. Daughter1 is wearing jellies. And I'm pretty sure I had a dress just like the one she's modeling. That's daughter2 rockin' the 80s hair and the blue eyeshadow. Maybelline ruled the 80's makeup aisle.

When they returned to uni after Christmas daughter2 took one of my old bridesmaid dresses home with her to possibly alter and wear this year. Let me just tell ya...I wore a whole lotta bridesmaid dresses in the 1980s. In 1984 alone my husband and I were in 10 weddings. Pretty much everyone we knew got married that year, including us. That was an expensive summer but we didn't worry too much about something as silly as money back then. We didn't give a lot of thought to a future filled with exorbitant college tuition fees for children yet to be born, mortgages, retirement, or any of those other pesky things the financial planner blabbed on and on about...that was for the far off future and we were blissfully in the present.

I've been looking through my umpteen piles of photographs in my attempt to organize here and I came across a few pictures from that decade. Not too many because for one thing hello, no digital cameras and for also, I think I mentioned I have a box or fifty to look through.

A few things stand out in my mind from those years...

I was young.
I was in college.
I was incredibly thin.
And incredibly tan.
(Girls-do not do this to your skin. Your 40 year old selves will thank me.)


I had alot of hair.
Not a single strand was gray.
I loved a boy.
I still do.
I graduated.


I got my first real world job.
I got married.
I loved my dress.
Totally.


Hubs had a mustache.
And a grin.
He still has the grin.
I moved.
Had to live where hubs job took him.
Keep that thought handy.
I got a new job.
Loved that one too.
Apartment life.
The tv sat on a wooden crate.
We had a washer and dryer.
Which made me very happy.
There was no internet.
Anywhere.
We moved. Again.
Are you seeing a pattern?
I got another new job.
Yep I loved it.
I wore a lot of scrunchies.
And jeans belted at the waist.
Which was tiny by the way.


And was the style of the day.
High waisted jeans. Ewww.
We bought a house.
I felt grown up.
We made a home.
I wore blouses with shoulder pads.
seriously?
And bows at the neckline.
Hello teacher.


My hair was still its God given color.
We moved.
Yes again.
While seven months pregnant.


I gained 17 pounds. Total.
My doctor told me to have a milkshake every night.
I miss some things about the 80's.


I had a baby.
My hair promptly turned a darker shade of brown.
But dark brown is not gray.

A six pound blue eyed blonde stole my heart.


Forever.
Sweetness and light.
My job is this.
God is good.
The 90's were looming.
So were my 30's.
We moved again.
To New Jersey.
Like now except it was before.
Never say never.


Where we love is home.
A good lesson to learn.
One I'll remember.
Definitely a grown up now.

19 comments:

  1. AMEN. What a beautiful journey. Thank you for sharing.
    Blessings, hugs, and prayers,
    andrea

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  2. You are a brave woman! In lots of ways... not the least of which is posting these pictures! hee hee! Can we schedule a scrapbooking weekend? I'm so far behind.

    And,very randomly,... The word verification "word" was - "femaxie"! hahahaha I think we need to come up with a definition for that one.

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  3. My favorite post so far! :)
    Love all the old pictures-you were stinkin' tan! And how could you only gain 17 pounds. I gained 17 pounds in the first trimesters.
    :)

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  4. Great post! Loved getting to know you better and seeing your history.
    You have moved a lot. Can I ask what kind of work you husband does, that moves him around so much?
    Where we love, is home. Great sentence, with so much truth to it!

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  5. Loved your old pictures!! I could relate to some of the clothes, hair, etc. Wow, you did have a dark tan. I was married in 1976. Enjoyed your trip down memory lane. Thanks for sharing. I need to learn how to use our scanner and put some old pictures online. That would be fun! Love & blessings from NC!

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  6. I loved looking through your blast from the past pictures! I see a lot of resemblance of daughter number 1 in some of them. Your girls 80s outfits are great!

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  7. Haha. I think I have the very same pictures, only not so much hair. Loved it!

    Have a great weekend.

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  8. Great memories from the 80's. I had very big hair then. I wish it were still in style because my hair still insists on being big. I can't believe you only gained 17 pounds. I probably did that in one month of pregnancy!

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  9. I know Im a little overly emotional today, cause this totally brought tears to my eyes! What a sweet stroll down memory lane...

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  10. What fun! I enjoyed your pics and loved the script with them. To be young again...lol. I agree with you, it is not where you are at, or a house that makes the home, its the love and caring and making memories! Thanks for sharing. And I love the idea of the 80s Prom, that looks like it was alot of fun for your beautiful girls.
    until next time... nel

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  11. What a great post, Joyce. Fun pictures! ;) "Where we love is home." That's been my focus this week.

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  12. I lived through the 80s... In fact, I think I wore a (more modest) version of Daughter #1's dress for Easter 1987 (one more appropriate for church!). I don't need to relive it.

    Thanks for the blog love today-- GO COLTS! Peyton is my hero!!!

    ~Elizabeth
    Confessions From A Working Mom

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  13. Awww, this post brought back so many memories for me too, thank you. I could relate to so many things you mentioned.

    We are going to a friends 50th birthday party in a few weeks and the theme is the 80's. Guess I need to go to the goodwill and start looking for an outfit. Do you think I'll be lucky enough to find any jellies!?!

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  14. Loved the pictures so much, Joyce, and the journey through your lives done in little snippets. So clever. And, I, too, loved the sentence, "Where we love is home..." Beautiful.

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  15. Great post, my life seemed to pass before my eyes as I scrolled down ; ) However, I was still in high school in 1984.

    Drat...I missed the book giveaway. Was it a good read ??? I just have my finger in too many pies right now and blogging sits on the back burner. My Hubby is working long hours to top it off.

    Thanks for the blast from the past...my how things have changed in a short amount of time.

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  16. Ahhh the 80's I remember them well. Great post and fun pictures.

    You have an award at my blog. Check it out when you have time.

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  17. What an awesome post! I'm so glad I found your blog this morning via Cathy's award post. I love to "meet" new blog friends & have been blessed by my visit here today. I am following & look forward to coming back & getting to know you better. Blessings to you & yours...
    Joyfully,
    Wylie

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  18. Great post, Joyce.

    One of my fraternity brothers posted pics on facebook this week of all of us at a leadership retreat (I learned a lot from fraternity that I'm still using today). I had dark brown hair, HUGE (huge) aviator glasses, and a 29 inch waist. Wowza. I may have to post them on my blog; can't think of a post anyway (I'm boring at the moment).

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