POLKA DOTS

When school was over in June we moved from the North Hills to the South Hills...no more Susie and Billy...but no more getting beaten up at the bus stop by Philip either. I would be in second grade seven years old, and ready for a new adventure. The owners of the house we bought entertained us in the gameroom with slides of the rose garden that we would soon be inheriting. I remember the colors of the roses that were mixed in with tall light blue delphiniums. I don't remember any tours of the house, just evenings with the slide show.

My Dad and I had our work cut out for us...there seemed to be a hidden clause in this whole deal about maintaining that rose garden. We did our best, but the delphiniums were biennials, and the roses got Japanese beetles, and we had a Boxer puppy ( Woof 1 ).

The neighbors were very friendly, and I had finally accepted the fact that school was going to be a much longer commitment that I had envisioned , but now I'd be able to walk to the local Catholic school with the other kids and avoid those treacherous waits at a bus stop. One rainy September morning I was strolling along with my new twin friends when I happened to glance across the street where another little group was heading to Saint Margaret's. My little seven year old heart absolutely fluttered when I caught sight of a glorious six year old girl as she skipped along like a little Von Trapp munchkin. She was wearing the most beautiful Blessed Mother blue raincoat with white polka dots AND was carrying a matching umbrella. I must have swooned or at least been pretty light headed for a few minutes...awed by this vision of loveliness...(did I mention the pig tails?). I made my mind up then and there to befriend this marvelous vision of heavenly beauty. We walked home together that very afternoon....and that night I dreamed about sharing that umbrella for the rest of my life....Even in my dream I knew better than to start a whining campaign for a matching ensemble...it wasn't as if I'd be begging for a Pirates uniform. I was already beginning to understand the rules.