Spiral Perms and Crystal Balls

Jack and I went to Mimi’s in Houston for Winter Break. We caught the Rice vs. Stanford Baseball game and The Aeros Hockey game.  Although Jack and his cousin, Brinkley, were bummed that there was no blood shed on the Toyota Center Ice, their spirits were lifted by a brief appearance on the Jumbo tron. We also hit and the Apple Store whose numerous employees remind me of antsy Chihuahuas primed to bust out in a flash dance.  By the way, don’t ask the guy at the door when the I-Phone 5 is coming out.  He will cut. You.

On our way back to Shreveport, we visited one of my Baylor roommates, Jen, and her yoga studio; Express Hot Yoga of The Woodlands. The studio is a  gorgeous, relaxing place and Jen has never looked better. She made us gourmet coffee drinks in her fabulous Ikea-red kitchen and fed us Quiche to boot.  As we sat there taking in the hospitable Zen of Jen, I was struck by how different all of our lives had turned out from what we imagined, as college seniors, they would be.

There at The Elite Cafe in Waco circa 1992 with our spiral perms, shoulder pads and puffy bangs, roommates Jen, Gina, Andrea and I tried to pen  fitting futures for ourselves. With graduation looming large, we took our vivid imaginations and the back of a menu and tried our best to predict just where we would be at the ripe old age of 27.  As fate would have it, my roommates and I proved pretty poor prognosticators

Jen was heavily involved in Campus Crusade for Christ. We predicted that Jen would work for CCC, live in California and have a slew of kids. After graduating from Baylor and getting her CPA, she left the corporate Accounting world to open a yoga studio near Houston with her husband. They decided on feline children and she serves on the board of The Pangea Network which empowers and educates Kenyan business women.

Gina was the consummate Southern Belle complete with antebellum Night Gowns. She called everyone, “Sugar,” and fended off weekly marriage proposals.  Her dentist scolded her for over flossing. We predicted that she would own a bakery in Georgia and be married with 2 children (the only part that we got right.) These days, she’s in Austin, TX, ministering on a church staff as a Christian Counselor.  A career for which her roommate thoroughly prepared her.

Andrea was the model; 6 feet tall, razor-thin, smart and surprisingly funny. Our predictions for her came close. We guessed that she would be a college recruiter in Texas, (rah, rah, TCU,) and be the first one to have children (sorry, I beat you there, Stork,)  She has two daughters and a husband and has retired from collegiate recruitment. She is passionate about mothering,  has to be the hottest Presbyterian Elder EVER  and is a huge cheerleader for Cook’s Children’s Hospital.

I guess the prediction for me; married, doing comedy, “total mom / total career,” has been fulfilled but certainly in no predictable manner.  I am still happily married, love being a  mom and I am still doing comedy.  I don’t know what being a “total mom with a total career,” looks like other than putting my family first as I pursue dreams which have obviously changed in the past 18 months.

As for me and my roomies, we no longer have big hair and augmented shoulders. We no longer pop out the second-floor window screen and invite Scott Phegley over to play the guitar on the roof. We no longer have cookie parties and invite 30 guys and no other girls to help out our odds. And while we may have made miserable fortune tellers, we have made enduring friends.