In seventh grade, Jenny Raisch thought her life was over. In all honesty, many of her friends did, too. You see, at the school fundraiser, her parents won the bid for a slumber party. They gave it to Jenny as a gift for her 13th birthday. The problem was, this was not just any slumber party. The party was hosted by and located at Sister Pat’s house. Yes, Sister Pat, as in a nun, though without the habit.
As her friends, the last place we wanted to spend time together was at our school principal’s house. We all rallied for Jenny and begrudgingly went to the party. It turned out to be the best birthday party ever. Sister Pat led the way to McDonald’s, where we ordered ice cream sundaes from the drive-thru line. On the walk home, she taught us the lyrics and dance steps to “Hey, Hey, We’re the Monkees.” Arm in arm, the group of us took up the width of the street like a chorus line. Left foot swing, right foot swing to the beat of the words we were belting out. https://open.spotify.com/track/6uwT4xzDhCY7vtJsqHv67c At Sister’s house, when we were sure she was asleep, we stole each other’s bras, wet them, and placed them in the freezer. The hope was that Sister Pat would find them in the morning. Oh, how funny and daring we thought we were! When the Ouija Board came out, we were sure we’d have one-way tickets to hell if we got caught playing.
The dread of having to go to Sister Pat’s was precisely why the party was extra fun. It was not just any slumber party. It was a life lesson. All of us girls learned that expectations and reality are quite different. Some things turn out better than we can imagine.
