Margaret- Daughter, Sister, Friend, Mother, Aunt- High School

The teenage years, mostly about Boys, full of angst and stuff.

Sabrina

I actually WASN'T put in a locker even once and even met some new friends. My old friends and I found different groups of people to hang out with. We had different interests, they liked Country, I liked Rock and Roll... and Grunge and some Rap music (Remember Black Sheep?). I was more interested in boys too than they were. But, we still found common ground with the horses and the village.

 
Some things that mark my teenage years: Working at Willy's Ice Cream store, Friday Night at Danas', attempting to pierce my own belly button many, many times, corn jumping and dances at the Fairground.

And people liked me, they REALLY, really liked me! Imagine my surprise, I wasn't as big a LOSER as I thought!

I met my first real boyfriend Jay (I couldn't believe that he actually wanted to go out with me), and had my first drink at the age of 14 (my first kiss was at church camp when I was about 13). I probably wouldn't have done some of the things the same if I did it again, but I wasn't sure what to do with my new-found popularity, I don't think I wanted to lose it. NOW I know that being liked isn't everything and YOU govern how people treat you.

Doing a Co-op at a Gr. 2 class

Throughout high school I hung out with some very different groups of people, yet I got along with pretty much everyone. I still never hung out with the super-popular sporty group, AKA preppy people, but they still said 'Hi' to me. I even played Dungeons and Dragons briefly, it was pretty fun, and it ended when I changed groups of friends again.

Somehow, the groups of friends I hung out with were directly linked with the boy that I was dating at the time. Although, I would DENY it at the time. To this day we still hang out with the friends that my Genius Rockstar Husband and I shared in Highschool.

When I was in Gr. 10, my oldest brother died of a drug overdose. Apparently they found him on the floor, his phone sitting on a nearby table, off of the hook (either in an effort to call for help, or to prevent help from coming). He was in his early 30's and having some serious family problems combined with anger issues. He had separated from his wife and young son, yet would drive by and throw rocks at their house, smashing their windows. I can only assume that part of his behaviour was learned, my mom says that my biological dad was abusive.

I immediately broke up with my boyfriend and the group of friends at the time, wanting nothing more to do with that horrible time in my life. Wanting to be disconnected from what had happened and move on, to forget. I never did explain myself to them, but it put me on a different path in my life for sure. It makes me appreciate the people in my life so much more.

Life is so very precious, you must CHERISH your closest friends and relatives and get rid of those in your life that don't make you a better person.

Corry, boy do WE have some stories!

Of course, being a girl, I had a lot of "Girl Drama". My girlfriends Kelly, Tara, Krista, Colleen, Andie, Steph, T.L., Rachel, Corry, Heather, Winston (ahahaha! Just seeing if he reads this) and more (you know who you are!) hung out intermittently and had some FANTASTIC hangouts at lunchtimes. I would share, but I don't want to embarrass anyone!

At about 15 yrs old I started dating someone pretty seriously for 9 months, then it was time for him to go off to University. We swore undying devotion over the distance, but that is where our 3 year age difference really became apparent. I met someone extremely good looking and interesting at the local fair... and poor Brian never had a chance. Mike walked into my life and asked if he could sit beside me on the bench, then he showed me his hackey sack skills and let me wear his navajo sweater when I got cold. Good thing HIS girlfriend at the time was busy that day!

I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but breaking up with Brian on his birthday while intoxicated was NOT VERY NICE. It would have been more humane to do it over the phone or with a letter. Ah, well, teenagers don't have a whole heck of a lot of sense to say the least. I felt bad about it for a long time, but now I know that he was free to date all kinds of University chicks so it worked out to his advantage.

My mom had a massive stroke when I was 16. I still remember my dad yelling for me, that my mom couldn't move and could barely talk. She had gone to bed, laid down and stroked out, but had been able to get my dads attention. I knew what had happened right away and called 911. I drove my dad to the hospital behind the ambulance, speeding through the yellow lights on the way. Thank God she survived and, for the most part, had a full recovery. That woman is Stubborn and a Fighter! While she struggled through her long recovery, I was responsible for taking over her small cleaning business, housework and preparing food. You never know how much you can handle until you HAVE to. I don't know how I managed it, but I did.

December 1994, Mike and I

I continued to date Mike off and on for a couple of years (more on than off). He cheered me up when I was down and did some of the craziest, most entertaining things. It was like a drug, I couldn't stay away! He stuck around Even after I cooked and served him the toughest Moose Roast on the planet (I thought it was beef!) and Much to my parents chagrin, we were together through the rest of my high school years and had some grand adventures with our friends. Most of which I shouldn't tell my kids about until they are out of high school themselves!

That brings me quickly to the next chapter in my life....