Why Danielle? Well, 9 years ago my friend Danielle passed away. She had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. She was 29 years-old. Danielle and I didn't see each other much in the years before she passed. We were childhood friends, we were friends through high school and freshman year of college. Then, I met and started dating my husband and we moved away to Penn State. Danielle and most of my friends from high school stayed local. I didn't keep in touch with my old friends when I was away and we drifted apart in the years to follow. I didn't realize how much I missed my friends from childhood until Danielle died. Her funeral was a reunion of sorts for me. I spent the entire day with my old friends and Danielle's family. I missed out on years of good times with them before Danielle got sick. After the funeral, I dreamed of Danielle all the time. I dreamed we were meeting for dinner at a restaurant and I stood at the hostess station waiting for her arrival. I dreamed that I cared for her while she was sick. I dreamed all the girls were together, but this time I was there too. I believed my dreams were compensation for the years I had missed with a friend I met when I was 5 and she was 4. Danielle vividly remembered our first meeting, I did not. She reminded me of it often... I was a very proud 5 year-old and happy to be the elder of the pair of us.
In the summer of 1983, Danielle moved in across the street. My sister and I bumped into Danielle while roller skating in our Northeast Philly neighborhood one hot afternoon. We noticed that a girl with long, black pigtails was following us in her black and yellow Rallies. Now, we knew that all the cool kids wore red, white and blue Fireball roller skates, but we liked her anyway. It wasn't long before Andrea and I were playing with Danielle everyday. She told us that she, her mom and her brother moved in with her grandmother (affectionately know as Mauny) across the street because her parents were splitting up. The 3 of us spent the next few summers playing together all day long. We spent so many of those days playing board games in Mauny's kitchen. Danielle loved board games!! Monopoly and Clue were our games of choice and she always kicked our butts in Monopoly. According to her little brother... "she cheated like a champ." We went to the movies and talked of the cinema. I vividly remember her review of "Ghostbusters." She filled me in on all the details before I got to see it. Back in the day, we walked everywhere... Carmen's Delicatessen for candy, the Devon Movie Theater, St. Tim's School. We shared so many walks with Danielle, so many memories... We listened to our records (yes, record albums). I loved Michael Jackson!! She loved Prince! This leads me one of our favorite summer activities.... Dance Off!!
Danielle, Andrea and I held dance competitions regularly during our summer vacations. Sometimes in our living room, sometimes in Maun's basement. The "Footloose" soundtrack was a top choice for our dance numbers. Andrea and I choreographed an awesome routine to the title track by Kenny Loggins. We performed it for many family members. "Let's Hear It For the Boy" and "Holding Out For a Hero" were Danielle's faves. Not to mention Toni Basil's "Mickey!" That's when the cheerleading pompoms came out. One time, Andrea and I begged my mom to let Danielle stay over until 9:00pm because of thunder and lightening. You see she'd brought her white Weltron 8 track player for our dance competition and we didn't want her to get electrocuted crossing the street...ahhh the things kids say to get what they want. My mom appeased us.
Danielle was like another sister to me during those years. Maybe we fought, but I don't remember. I do remember that Andrea spent a lot of time with us and I didn't always want Andrea's company when I was 9, 10, 11 years-old. I had my friends and Andrea had hers. But, Danielle was our friend, our dance partner. Danielle and her family eventually moved out of Maun's house, but lived nearby. We continued to go to school together. But, the years we spent together on Lardner Street always hold a special place in my heart.
Shortly after Andrea died, I realized that I'd lost my 2 best friends... my sisters... my dance partners from the summers of my childhood. I am the only one that remains from the summers of "Dance Off." It is 2012, I am 38 years-old and both of them are gone. What a lonely feeling. But, one thing can drive that lonely feeling away... dreams.
I mentioned earlier that I felt my dreams of Danielle compensated for time lost with her. Since Andrea passed, I've had similar dreams. But in my dreams with Andrea, she speaks to me. The dreams are vivid, her words are wise and thought provoking. I now believe that maybe these dreams are more than just dreams. Maybe they're visitations like the one I believed to have with my grandfather. Everyone dreams. Details of dreams often fade as time passes, but the dreams I have of loved ones gone stay with me, never fading.
So, when I spoke to the first medium back in October of 2011, I had questions about several people who've passed. Keep in mind I had no clear messages from Andrea from this medium. This was a 1 on 1 experience, so I had the opportunity to ask her questions. So, I asked about Danielle. The woman asked if Andrea knew Danielle. I said "yes." She said Andrea brought Danielle forward. The medium knew that Danielle died young. She knew that she had an illness. She knew that Danielle and I grew apart over the years, but she said Danielle felt we had a special bond. What a comforting feeling to know that Danielle and Andrea found each other in heaven. I wonder if they're playing board games together. I wonder if they're dancing.
I want to thank my friend Heather for emailing me about my blog. If she didn't, this entry wouldn't exist. I miss all of my old friends dearly and I welcome you anytime.
Please share your feelings, memories and stories with me either on my blog or my email. I've received wonderful, uplifting feedback already. I'd love to hear more!!
"I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was twelve ... Jesus, does anyone?" ~Stephen King
