Flashback Fridays: Sleepovers with Sarah

Last night I had a dream that I visited the Murphy's on Simsbury Court and spent the evening laughing, dancing, and feeling at home. What a happy dream it was! You see, from the age of six to eighteen, my brother, Marshall, and I could be found on Simsbury Court on most weekends and I have a many happy and humorous memories there. Flashback Fridays would not be complete without a mention of the Murphy family.

I was lucky to have been raised with siblings who were the best of friends but as I was sandwiched between two boys, I still longed for a best girl friend to play with. When I was six I had one that lived up the street from us, but that didn't last as long as I had hoped. I was told that I cackled like a witch and was not a good influence on her (?????) and so I wasn't allowed to play with her anymore. I was crushed. But then I met Sarah Murphy.

Sarah was as confident as I was shy and as spunky as could be! The day we became friends, she was looking for rubber bands to make bow and arrows so that she could declare war on a group of boys. I had a whole bundle of rubber bands on my rubber band gun (doesn't every cool girl tote a large and clunky rubber band gun around with them?) and so we were a fit from the start. From then on we did everything together. Girl scouts, ballet, plays, sewing, business schemes, baking, tea parties, etc. You name something dorky and we did it with flare.

Fridays were special days for us because it meant that we would most likely be having a sleep over at one of our homes. When I spent the night at the Murphy's, we slept in the guest bedroom down stairs. There we would sneak out to the kitchen for a late night snack and talk late into the night (we thought we were sneaky but I am sure her parents knew we did this as I have already mentioned that I cackle like a witch).

One night, along with our usual yogurt fix, we loaded up on all sorts of soda before heading off to dreamland. Around Five in the morning I woke up with a start. Something was wrong but I couldn't put my finger on it....until I realized that I had peed in my sleep all over my half of the bed!!!!

Now, you should know (and I can't believe that I am admitting to this) I was a bed-wetter as a young child. Yep. I was one of them. I don't know if it was from the psychological stressors of breaking my bones, from getting so used to using bed pans here and there, or if I just was.

It had been years since I woke up to this plight and had never ever done it at someone else's home, let alone in their bed! I was horrified and humiliated and I dreaded morning coming. How was I going to explain this?!! And then I hatched a plan. A plan that any good friend would think of. I would make it look like Sarah had peed and not me! I would roll her into my puddle and by morning she would be wet and I would be dry! Who would suspect?!!! I was brilliant!!!

Quietly I climbed over my sleeping friend. Softly, I started rolling her into my big unwelcoming wet spot. Everything was going as planned until, in a groggy voice I heard, "Malinda? What is going on?" Blast! Sarah had woken up and she wasn't even close to my side of the bed! The deceitful plan was a bust. My cover was blown and I sheepishly owned up to my wet mess. Kindly, she helped me clean up and when her mom woke, they both graciously didn't make a big deal out of it. I was grateful but not grateful enough to tell my friend that I was planning on rolling her in my own urine until many years later. You know you have a bosom friend when you can come clean about a story like that and still have a good laugh about it.

UPDATE: Malinda is making progress and doing much better. She hasn't had a major accident in weeks and the last time I caught her trying to roll me into her puddle I explained how I weighed more than twice what she did- so just be honest and we would clean up whatever piddles may come her way. -James