My childhood bff Alex came in for a night and we are gabbing about all sorts of things as our children navigated the strange social interaction of obligation and being a kid together, etc. Among the funny things we discussed was a sleep away tennis camp.
First as an aside, it is hilarious how tennis came into my life. In Staten Island, where I lived for two years, my emo enrolled us into the local free tennis camp where my cousin Ed excelled (later he told me he would choose a song and play matches to that song in his head. Fascinating because that’s so not how my mind works). I played summer tennis there and then when we moved to New Jersey, that was the only team I could join. The truly athletic girls were in field hockey and the leftovers like myself were left to play varsity tennis, mindlessly yelling curse words as I ran across courts for balls that eluded me. Childhood BFF excelled. She was athletic and competitive; single matches lit her energy and focus. We both looked up to a senior Kris Chu who often said “I’m having a conniption fit.” Wow, we so admired that turn of praise.
But in that endless quest of what-to-do-with-my-child-during-summer, Childhood BFF and I shared a room a two-week tennis sleep away camp in New Jersey, on site at a boarding school called Blair Academy. There, we befriended a fellow camper who was a “townie” and day camper. She was a self-possessed, intelligent being. We snuck out at night and drove a golf car around on campus at wild speeds, along with guy friend who looked liked an embryo Brad Pitt. All I can recall is a terrifyingly bright blonde hue for his hair. Alex and I both had a crush on this young boy and he liked Alex. I acted crabby about it. I did not have the tools then to articulate my feelings of romantic and social rejection but this daytime camper spotted it right away. I remember her looking at me so clearly and saying something like “Oh Tina feels left out poor baby,” but she wasn’t mean about it. We were all about 13 years old. It makes me smile to remember this now and applaud in real life to have a friend who can recall this same ridiculous history.