bit of nostalgia

i’m a sucker for nostalgia.  maybe you’ve picked up on that?  and now that jovie’s getting older, and around the age that THEYsay she’ll be choosing a “lovey”, i’ve been thinking of my own.  growing up i had 3 that i remember. 

i grew up in columbia, SC- home of the gamecocks.  my whole family (like a zillion) were fans of the gamecocks.  except my brother, kenny  (him again).  he was a fan of the big rival- clemson tigers.  of course being the youngest, and a girl…  i never cared about football.  i always “rooted” for the gamecocks as much as saying “yay” can be called “rooting”.  still, growing up i always wanted USC to win.  it didn’t make sense not to, since i lived in columbia.

one year, i had gotten a tiger-shaped stuffed animal pillow.  of course i had no idea what to name him, so i used all of my brain power and named him Clemson.  i slept with him nightly.  although admittedly, i don’t think i had him for very long.  i’m not sure what happened to him, but i don’t have very many memories of him when i was older.

interestingly enough, i grew up and graduated from clemson.  my family & friends were confused and would ask why i’d ever go there since i “hated” them so much.  but i knew i wasn’t a great big fan, and i wasn’t going to let football determine what school i went to.  i was the only freshman on “the hill” who would pull for the gamecocks instead of the tigers.

besides, why would i go to USC and live at home when i could go 2 hours away w/ my BFF?  turned out to be a fantastic decision.  i love the school.  gorgeous campus, great education school, and- oh yeah- that’s where i met The Mr.

my freshman year, i became friends w/ a girl who lived on the 3rd floor, right below me.  (what a fantastic view of the stadium i had—- didn’t care about football, but was very exciting to be a part of it all!)  and how completely random that this girl from maryland had the exact same pillow!

i digress.  recently this has been on my mind because i’m remembering some of my loveys from when i was little.  recently, i took what memory i had of Clemson in my head & searched on google something like:  “stuffed tiger pillow vintage”  and the FIRST entry i came to was the exact one i was looking for!  i was pretty amazed.  (i’m not that great at googling). 

after all this, i had to hunt for the one and only picture i thought i had of Clemson.  so, here…. travel back to 1978 and see a very sleepy mpotter:

4 years old

oh, and look!  there’s coco!  that’ll be another story…..

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