“Carol Brady called. She wants her shag back.”

I was baptized, confirmed, and married at Grandview Lutheran church in Des Moines, Iowa. Though I now consider myself a member of “the church of do the right thing” I think it’s cool that I have pictures of myself at Grandview Lutheran that span almost thirty years.

1967 – This is a picture of me and Trish at our baptism. My mom has downsized her beehive but only because it wouldn’t fit under her hat. I don’t know why my mom and dad look so serious because there’s no way Trish and I have gotten into any trouble yet.

“Rejoice,” said the pastor “for they will grow up to be fine young ladies” (or perhaps a potty mouth blogger with a penchant for f-bombs, red wine, and narcissistic over-sharing and a tequila swilling, erotica loving, Match.com trolling cougar). Only time will tell!

1982 – Trish, Stacy (one of our best friends), and I started attending classes at church every Wednesday night so we could be confirmed. We went on a weekend retreat as part of the confirmation process and as soon as the sun went down, our entire class paired off and hooked up. Apparently our adult chaperones did not take their supervision duties seriously or they felt that church kids on a retreat would never do something like that. Trish, Stacy, and I proved them wrong.

1996 – Here I am, once again at Grandview Lutheran but this time, it’s my wedding day. A sacred, special time when Dave and I will pledge to honor, love, and respect each other ’til death do us part. Right after I enjoy this beer. Because nothing says “bride to be” quite like a cold can of Bud Light consumed in the church nursery 10 minutes before you put on your headpiece and veil and take your vows.

Finally married! Check out the cross at the front of the sanctuary – it hasn’t changed since 1982! Also check out Trish and her crutches. She got super smashed at my bachelorette party, fell down Angie’s stairs, and broke her leg in about 17 places. Her cast is red to match the bridesmaid dresses!

Though I am not a religious person I’ll always think fondly of my time at Grandview Lutheran. It’s a beautiful church and I’m glad I have these pictures to help me remember it.

May peace be with you,

Tracey

I thought I’d try something new today since I don’t have a lot of time to post (and, if I’m being honest, no idea what to write about today if I did have more time.)

So, welcome to Flashback Friday! I thought it would be fun to post pictures from my past on this blog. They might be of me, my family, or my friends. You never know who will show up on Flashback Friday.

And to all my friends in real life? Yes, you should be afraid.

To kick off Flashback Friday I thought I’d post a couple pictures of me as an infant and since I’m a twin every picture will include Trish. Huh. Maybe that’s why I’ve turned into such an attention whore. I’m making up for forty-two years of having to share a birthday, the limelight, whatever. Just kidding Trish. Sorta.

This is a picture of my mom and dad holding me and Trish. I have no idea which baby is me. The reason I chose this picture is not so you can see what I looked like as a baby but rather so you could see my mom’s hairdo.

When Matthew was a baby I remember not getting my teeth brushed until 2:00 PM so how in God’s name did she have time to do that? With little baby twins!

Here she is again, just lounging around in her elaborately constructed beehive.
Granted, this was 1967 so that updo probably went “up” on Monday and came “down to be washed” seven days later, but still. Actually there is only one of us in this picture (let’s say it’s me.) Trish must be rolling around on the floor somewhere next to an un-childproofed electrical outlet and a lead-painted toy.

My mom also left the hospital weighing a few pounds less than she did when she got pregnant.

I gotta give her credit where credit is due because she could just as easily have put her unwashed hair up in a butterfly clip for six months while she struggled to lose fifty post-partum pounds.

Not that I’d know anything about that.