Moving on up
Or moving out--depending on your musical preference and if you are coming or going...
I’m baaack!
Did you miss me? Maybe you didn’t even notice I was gone. Either way, here I am!
And for those of you wondering where I’ve been-why I haven’t been brightening your day with my obscure GenX ramblings, the answer is simple. I’ve been moving.
Which got me to thinking about moving back in the day-both sides of the coin.
There was nothing more exciting than a new kid moving in to your school, and if they were in your class? It was like winning the lottery-literally. Maybe this was specific only to me, because I grew up in such a small town, but someone new in your grade was like a celebrity moving in.
Where were they from-even if it was just somewhere else in the state it seemed exotic because it was somewhere else. They had clothes from stores you’d never heard of and would regal the lunch table with stories of foods we’d never eaten. Taught us games they used to play at their recess.
(Side note here to discuss how you all played Dodgeball, and I IMPLORE YOU to please answer in the comments because it is an ongoing debate around here. I played Dodgeball against a wall. Some part of you had to be touching the wall at all times-if you came off the wall, you were out. Which meant you became one of the throwers. Last person still on the wall won. Which resulted in probably a lot of concussions. Anyone who didn’t grow up with me play by these rules?)
In high school, if someone new came in, it was very exciting because they may be someone you could potentially date. I mean, that’s the Eighties movie dream right there-new kid in town turns out to be the love of your life or at least a date for the Homecoming dance. A true GenX fairy tale.
Wait, that really is the plot of Footloose. And Grease. And the Lost Boys. And Karate Kid.
And we were not subtle about it. It was insta-crush. Did you know anything about this new person? Absolutely not. That didn’t matter. It mattered that they were new and you had the potential to be the one dating the new person. It was like a game of capture the flag, first one there wins.
Imagine the ego boost that had to be for them. Being the new kid in high school meant you were cool. You had a slightly different fashion sense, or hair cut or taste in music. It was like a cultural exchange, except eventually they just became one of your classmates, not new any longer.
Think of Brenda and Brandon on 90210. The ultimate new kid story arc—complete cultural shift-Minnesota to Beverly Hills. They missed home, but everyone in that high school adored them from the start.
Other new kids on TV didn’t fare so well—cousin Oliver on Brady Bunch pretty much ushered in the cancellation of that show. Sure, he was cute, but it never quite made sense why he had moved in. Then there was the (in retrospect) slightly odd premise of Willis and Arnold moving in with Mr. Drummond on Different Strokes. Sure, they hit the proverbial lottery, but if he was so rich, why did they have to share that bedroom? Same with The Fresh Prince of Bell Aire. We knew, from the theme song, who Will was, it should have been a no brainer that he settle into his cushy new life, but he just couldn’t keep himself out of mischief.
And if one of classmates moved away? You didn’t lose a friend; you gained a pen pal! We didn’t have facetime, frankly we weren’t allowed to call anyone long distance—are you trying to send your parents into bankruptcy? If you wanted to keep in touch with someone who moved away, you wrote them a letter. If you were lucky you did it on a Hallmark Postallette notecard. Remember those adorable things? No envelope required but more private than a postcard. You scribbled out your letter, folded it closed and sealed it with a coordinating sticker.
And then you waited for them to reply.
Read. Repeat.
What an absolute thrill to find out what they had for lunch seven days ago! (Because we were nine and didn’t have much else going on to tell them in our letters. But that wasn’t what it was about. It was about staying connected, keeping those friendships alive, and getting mail.
Mostly it was about getting mail.
Simpler times.
(PS don’t forget to tell me the rules of your childhood Dodgeball game in the comments)