One of the major goals in planning your weekends in high school was to be seen and to hope to see others. This involved careful planning in determining where to sit at the football game or the local Mexican restaurant.

I was reminded of this last night as I ate at our local Mexican restaurant. It was packed. For a moment, I remembered the long table of people I’d eat with in school before going to a friend’s house to watch a rented DVD. We all pretty much eat chicken fingers with cheese dip with sweet tea.

At football games, we would socialize and look for our favorite number or hope our crush showed up. Pre planning included the right CD or CDs with friends such as “Cowboy Take Me Away,” by the group that used to be known as the Dixie Chicks.

Coordinating the right look was equally important – best Calvin Klein jeans with your New Balance or the right butterfly clips in your hair. Scrunchy on your wrist for good measure.

A lot of pictures were taken by a disposable camera and fingers crossed, they’d turn out right with the lighting of the stadium.

No cell phones for most part – just in the moment kind of stuff- like thinking you caught a glance from your crush. You could live on that moment for at least a month.

One of my favorite memories is running across the street after a game to the Middle School Homecoming Dance. For a long time, two of my best friends spent every Homecoming weekend with me from 2nd grade- on.

Now my days are spent not so much worried about being seen or seeing others. I prefer the life of a hermit on weekends.

That’s okay because I had my time once upon a time ago.

I think of that girl ever so often. I wonder if she’d be any different knowing what I know now. I hope not. I think it’s best living in the moment- glances, sweaty palms, butterflies and all.