My parents were better than most at catching us when we broke curfew. Most of the time, we were just a few minutes late, so they probably knew we were sneaking in and didn’t care. Sometimes I would tiptoe in ten minutes late, thinking I was being so quiet, when I would hear, “You’re late!” from my parents’ bedroom. The next day, nobody mentioned a thing. They just wanted me to know that they knew.

There was one time I got away with a big one. Travis and I had just started dating (winter 1989). Actually, it was our first official date, since dating at college was a bit ambiguous on when something counted as a date. Most of the time at college, limited funds demanded that we just “hang out” and order pizza with our friends. Or “hang out” and not order pizza. Over winter break, we actually had to make an effort to see each other. My sister Catherine was going out with a friend to see a movie and invited Travis and me along. Of course, we were in! Here is where my memory gets fuzzy, because in my mind, we saw Pretty Woman, but that had a release date of March 1990, and this story definitely happened in December 1989, so we must have seen something else. We all went in one car and picked Travis up at his parents in Downers Grove. 

After the movie (whatever movie it was), Travis and I got dropped off at my house in Lisle, because it was still fairly early (probably 10 pm) and we didn’t want the date to end just yet. We went to the basement in my house and sat on the infamous orange chairs (which Taryn still has in her apartment), looking at the Christmas tree while sharing stories of Christmas traditions that each of our families had. And we fell asleep. Each sitting solo in an orange chair. I woke up with a jolt sometime between 4:30 am and 5 am. OH NO OH NO OH NO OH NO!!!! IT IS NOT MORNING!!!! TRAVIS IS NOT STILL HERE IN MY PARENTS’ BASEMENT!!! I woke Travis up, quickly, but quietly. I ushered him to the front door, gave him a hug (I was so panicked, we did not even kiss goodbye), and pushed him out the door. WHEW! That was close. Then a tiny tap, tap, tap. I opened the door to the December chill, and Travis said, “I did not drive. I don’t have a car!” Of course! Catherine drove.

So, we pushed my dad’s Plymouth Horizon out of the garage, because that stick shift car was LOUD in reverse, and used the natural grade of the driveway to get it into the street. I think Travis even pushed it part way down the street before we started it. While driving, we didn’t even talk. It was like, if we were quiet in the car, nobody would hear us sneaking around. I dropped him off (again, without even a kiss) and flew back home, hoping, praying that I could get the car back in the garage without getting caught, trying to come up with some plausible excuse why I was driving around at 4:30 in the morning. But, I didn’t need it. I tucked the car away, snuck into bed (probably with my clothes on so as not to make any noise), and quietly panicked while pretending I was asleep. Seriously, who would believe that we spent the night in the basement and didn’t do ANYTHING?! Sure, we sat in the glow of the Christmas tree lights and reminisced about Christmases gone past. Sure you did! Sitting in separate chairs… not even snuggled up on the couch. We would have been on the couch, but it didn’t look at the tree, and it would have been weird to move it across the basement. Thank God we didn’t move the couch! Imagine moving that back quietly in a dark basement at 4:30 in the morning. I will always love the song “Wake Up Little Susie” because it makes me think of this long-ago event and smile. 

So, on that one early December morning, God blessed us with a pass, which probably allowed us to keep dating. I thought this would be shorter, and I could add stories about growing up in a big family, but you will just have to tune in next week for that. This was just a crossover of my typical American life. Have a great week everyone! I hope you get a pass when you really need it!