I was a senior in college. It was very cold that day. I attended classes, deejayed a shift of alternative music at WSJB-FM (ah, the joy of college radio), had a 2-hour shift at my work study job, watched Oprah. In the evening, as part of a music appreciation class, I "rented" one of the College's 15-passenger vans and took about ten other students to the symphony. Most of the participant were underclassmen. I don't know why I remember that detail.
Anyway, it was snowing by the time we left campus for Portland. The symphony was wonderful, although they did one piece by Shostakovitz that I found nearly impossible to listen to. The dissonance was terrible! If his intent in composing the piece was to make the listener feel on edge, he succeeded. Later, I wrote an article for the school newspaper called "Cacophony at the Symphony." I was a clever one, I was.
When the show was over, we headed out to the van, now covered in several inches of snow. I drove very slowly back to campus, dropped everyone off at their respective residence halls, returned the van, and walked back to my townhouse. When I got to my room, there was a message on the door for me to call my parents.
Knowing that my sister-in-law had gone into labor the day before (poor thing), I had a hunch what this message was all about. The phone in our townhouse was being used (one phone for 24 girls), so I ran to the next townhouse over. It was the boys' townhouse, and they rarely used their phone. I called home and received the news that my new niece had arrived! Her name was Caitlin Elizabeth.
I've become one of those middle-aged ladies who always says things like, "my, where has the time gone?" and "I can't believe it's been 18 years." You know what? I don't care! I am middle-aged. And I really don't believe it's been 18 years.
Happy birthday, Cait! You've brought joy and laughter and light into my life ever since that cold snowy night in 1987.
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