Wow, where do I begin? So many thoughts. At first glance, there are definite signs this is 1983. You’ve got the terrycloth tank top and shorts set, the mini trampoline, the red rubber ball that makes me wince in pain just looking at it. I am also sporting a nifty plastic visor, and it looks like we have not one, but two boomboxes nearby to choreograph our masterpiece synchronized trampoline routine. (On a side note, perhaps this subconsciously influenced me to now enjoy “Bounce” class on modern rebounders).

You may be wondering why this post is entitled “June Birthdays” … well, of course there is a story.

I grew up in the small town of Marinette, Wisconsin, which is about 50 miles north of Green Bay. I had two older brothers, as well as five boy cousins on my dad’s side who all lived in our town. I also had two other boy cousins in town on my mom’s side (at that point). So I guess you could say that boys surrounded me. A lot. Perhaps this helped my resilience, and perhaps it explains my general ease for hanging out with dudes in general, but anyway that was my life.

However, the bright side was that I did have two girl cousins on my mom’s side … but they lived down in a Milwaukee suburb. The cool part was that we all had June birthdays: the 12th (me), 17th (Jenny), and 20th (Lori). This made a great excuse for us to celebrate our birthdays together for many years. It also meant that Mom and I would go take the Greyhound bus to Milwaukee to visit them.

Oh, how I loved the bus! The diesel smell, the blue fabric patterned seats … the excitement of going to the big city of Milwaukee. Even though I was only eight years old, I was already a clothes horse, and going to the Milwaukee area meant much better shopping. While I was still shopping at The Children’s Place and the Esprit catalog, I really admired my teenaged cousin Lori who could shop at the junior stores with names like Merry-Go-Round, Contempo Casuals, 5-7-9, and Id. Oh, this reminds me … does anyone remember the Spiegel catalog? I. LOVED. THAT. CATALOG.

The adventure would begin when Aunt Sue picked us up at the bus station in downtown Milwaukee, and then we’d head to their home in Glendale. There would be shopping of course, but there would also be playing. Their neighbors had a pool we could use, and the semi-finished basement was full of toys and games and our imaginations. Note the nice sandbox in the picture too; perfect for playing with Matchbox cars. One time Jenny and I played “model” and put on a fashion show for Lori, who judged us. (I lost. I didn’t make good eye contact with the judge.)

This particular year, the trampoline was a big hit. Lori and I choreographed an entire routine to Wanna be Startin’ Somethin’ by Michael Jackson. In this picture, Jenny and I must have been creating another routine. It’s worth nothing that I could never high- kick worth shit, and this picture is proof. Those hamstrings have been tight my entire life, apparently.

When it came time to celebrate our birthdays, my cousins’ grandma on their dad’s side arrived with literally PILES of boxes of clothes for her granddaughters. It was truly astounding. I watched as Lori and Jenny opened up box after box of outfits. How fun for their grandma to be able to do this … and how fun for them to have that many presents! Even though I didn’t even know their grandma, she was so sweet and didn’t want me to feel left out, so she even bought me a few outfits. Looking back, that was so kind and thoughtful; what a lady. And since Lori was five years older than I, I knew I would be getting those hand-me-downs. Sorry, Jenny … maybe some of those things circled back to you, but who knows if they were even in style by then.

Now that we’re all older, I hope to revive this tradition and celebrate June birthdays again with my dear cousins. There will be shopping for sure … and cake. And laments about our genetics making it impossible to tone our thighs. But there will still be laughter and stories and more memories to come. Now if only we had a boombox …