Character development part II: Robin

7-22-09 reminiscing vacation brain

Whenever I hear the Michael Jackson song, "Rockin Robin", I always think of my friend Robin.

Robin is another neighborhood friend who was in school with me all grades K-12. Robin now lives in Chicago with her husband Tom (also from Charles City, but lived on a farm and didn’t go to our elementary school), and they have a wonderful daughter Taylor, now age 15.

I’m so mad that our camera had a technical glitch this year, and Greg and I lost all of the pictures taken on July 4th day. I’m sad to be without current pictures of Robin, Tom and Taylor.

Although we spent time together over the years growing up, Robin and I really didn’t become best friends until 9th grade Latin Class, along with another gal Jean Ann. We didn’t know of Jean Ann prior to that, since she attended the Catholic School grades K-8. For some reason, Robin, Jean Ann and I became a mighty threesome all through high school.

Of the three of us, Robin was known as the brains, not that I wasn’t smart too, but Robin had the long time reputation of being an avid reader, and since elementary school- she was bookish. I was not. Robin also was an avid pianist. I guess I was the clown of the group and my mission was to be silly and to make others laugh, where as Jean Ann, was the boy magnet, outgoing, and our social organizer which Robin and I needed at the time(and still do)!

We still tease Robin about her reputation of being “Little Miss Perfect” in elementary school. Here in this picture you probably can see what I mean.


We were in 4-H, a newly formed city club- thanks to my Mom and another neighborhood mother, Marge, who agreed to be our 4-H leaders. Here we are being judged for the clothes we had sewn and were modeling. Robin is on the far LEFT. Her outfit had matching purse and shoes and gloves! The other girls in our group never understood how Robin could have sewn the bottom scallop of her dress without her mother’s help. We were suspicious! In later years Robin did confess to getting help from her Mom!

I am next to Robin in this photo, going through my ugly-awkward phase of puberty! For some reason my straight hair went through a kinky-wavy 3 year period from grade 6th through 8th, which I hated... I guess it was the hormones!

Here is another funny picture from 7th grade. Four of us neighborhood girls who were in tap dance classes together, performed for a Junior High variety show. Look how cute Robin is in her bunny outfit. I’m just a plain old black cat. (But of course being the cat lover that I am, that was the choice I made).



So THIS year over the 4th of July, I was happy that I did get to spend time with Robin, Tom and Taylor, however sadly this year, Jean Ann was out of town helping her son, Eric, move into his first house. Eric will be married next month, so I’m looking forward to that.

Here is a picture of us all together last year over the 4th, taken just after the parade while we were all hanging out in the city park. This is Robin, Taylor, Jean Ann and I.



We all say that Robin's daughter Taylor reminds us so much of Robin when she was that age. We love passing on our old stories of her mother to Taylor. Taylor is polite and listens better than any teenager I know, but she is probably bored to tears!