Memories are difficult things. When you go far enough back you have to blow so much dust off of your memory files that continual facts sometimes get blown away with the dust.
Oh - you haven't read the books yet? Well, I have you covered. Suffice it to know that Ramona was Beezus' little sister. They loved each other, but would never come right out and say it. But you know they did because no matter how obnoxious Ramona was, Beezus still stood up for her.
The feeling was mutual though, Ramona loved Beezus and wanted to be just like her. She saw Beezus as the person she wanted to be when she grew up.
I could relate to that - but I'm moving a bit too fast. Let me start at the beginning.
Judy was the baby of the family for three years and three days before my puckered, pink, screaming 'bundle of joy' entered into her life. Suddenly, she wasn't the youngest anymore, I was.
I imagine that Judy was excited to have a little sister, someone she could play with, blame for things, pick on, and enjoy getting to know better.
Judy and I were both born in Illinois, so we have that in common as well. When we moved back to Dubuque she would hang out with Gary and the Kelley boys or our next door neighbor, Nancy.
When we moved to Cudahy, we shared a room for a while with Ginny. Karen and Gary each had their own rooms. Ginny had the coolest dresser top with lots of perfume bottles and glass figurines. I would play with them and give them names. They would skip across the dresser and dance with each other.
Ginny used to give me specific instructions not to touch anything on her dresser. So, of course, I did. Especially the Little Bo Peep figurine. That was my favorite piece. It had been on Ginny's birthday cake one year.
I didn't break anything - just moved them around. Scratch that, I think I did break the chain on the Little Bo Peep figurine (she had 3 sheep on a chain).
Our bed in that room was a trundle bed. It's like a shorter version of a bunk bed and the lower bunk rolled out, leaving a nice hiding spot. When it wasn't being used as a trampoline, it was a great fort. Throw a few blankets over the top and pull the trundle out, then squeeze between the lower/upper bunk and you had a place to hold secret story sessions, or play Barbies.
Judy and I would spend hours making outfits for our dolls out of Kleenex, then when the box was empty, use it for furniture. We could decorate the secret clubhouse by weaving other pieces of Kleenex through the wire springs of the top bunk.
I had a 'close and play' record player and we would march in circles as various toys while 'March of the Wooden Soldiers' played loudly.
When we got gifts, I always wanted what Judy got. My parents knew this so they tried to give us similar toys. When Judy got a brunette Barbie, I got a blonde one.
When Judy got a Chrissy doll, I got a Velvet. (Chrissy was brunette, Velvet was her little sister and was blonde). These were very trendy dolls - you could pull the middle of their ponytail longer, and then, using a dial on their back, roll it back to a short bob.
One year for Easter we got bubble bath. Judy's was in a Wendy (from Casper and Wendy) and I got Deputy Dog! I was devastated, Deputy Dog? Seriously? To this day, Judy swears that they got the baskets mixed up and she got the one that was meant for me. Doesn't matter. But I think she owes me a Wendy bubble bath - don't you?
Judy was still pretty protective of me, even though she would never outwardly admit it. I know she would stick up for me. I was responsible for her first black eye at the hands of some bullies.
Judy came with me to the Ackers house, I think at first it was to make sure I was safe, but after a while I know she enjoyed sitting and talking with them just as much as I did.
Much like Ramona, I followed my very own Beezus around like a little puppy, happily chatting and giggling as we played jump rope along with her friends Terry and Jane. For some reason the rules of friendship were not followed in her group - it could have been the difference in ages.
I have some great memories hanging out with Judy, although she may not completely agree with me. She never pushed me away when I wanted to hang out with her and her friends.
I'm sure there was many times that her friends wanted Judy to ditch me, and they could have, since they could easily outrun me. So, it had to be Judy that made them slow down so I could keep up.
As the years turned over we went from being room mates because our parents said we had to - to being room mates because we enjoyed each other's company.
We may have started out being Beezus and Ramona, but now it's more like Lucy and Ethel, or Thelma and Louise (sans the driving off a cliff).
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