Happy Birthday, Tess!

I was tempted not to post this, since Tess has basically ignored my begging and pleading for her to join the blog. But, I figured I'd take the high road and post a birthday wish to her anyway. Maybe someday she'll follow through and join, and then she can see that we all remembered her big day.
I've known Tess since we were in the 1st grade together in Mrs. Dixon's room. From that point forward, we had several teachers together (Mrs. Butler) and lots of classes together in the later years. The one thing I remember about Tess was that she was ALWAYS in the mood to laugh. She had an infectious laugh, and it always seemed she was looking for any reason to let it out.
She was an only child, so I think that was a reason we'd always find her mom taking part in school parties and such. Now that I look back on it, Tess and her mother were two peas in a pod. They had the same laugh, the same mannerisms, and were both just always in a happy mood. I remember in the 1st grade, we had a Halloween party and some of our mothers showed up in costumes. My mother showed up in a white sheet with her face painted like a skeleton, and she never told me she was going to do it, so when she showed up, I had no idea it was my own mother. Mrs. Gurley showed up as a witch...with the hat, the broom, the black dress, and even this crusty make-up on her nose to make it look like a real evil witch nose!
The last time I saw Tess, was when a bunch of us gathered at Margil's over the holidays I think back in 1997. She was just the same....hyper, happy, and full of life. Tess, I hope one of these days, you slow down long enough to join the blog and share some memories and good times with us. You a part of so many of them, so I'm sure I can say that most of us look forward to catching up with you and finding out what you've been up to all these years. I heard that you're back in Corinth and live a few doors down from my grandmother, in fact. Regardless, I hope you had a great birthday, and I hope to see you on the blog soon!