Michele Ward is a pastor at Brown Memorial. I met her when she became the new pastor in 2018. This paper is about a friend she has had since childhood, and how they met. It is also about how she and her friend stay connected through the pandemic.
At the age of 10, the shy but extroverted Michele was a student at Elson Elementry school in California. One day, Michele went into the school ready to learn something new. She went to her assigned seat in the classroom. “I was assigned 6th grade when I was actually in 5th grade. The teacher made this mistake because I was at a higher level at my old school, so he thought I was in 6th grade because of that.” Due to this mix-up, Michele ended up being in the same class as Sophie. They became instant friends and began hanging out a lot.
One way that they hung out was by going to each other’s houses. “When I visited Sophie’s house in the city, it seemed much quieter and more sophisticated than mine. Sophie’s family was part British, so we would have tea and then learn how to make British food, such as Shepard’s pie and marmalade on toast. We would also watch movies together, such as ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Another favorite memory I have was when we went over to my house and my siblings would try to join in with whatever we were doing. My house was louder and more unruly than hers. In my opinion, I think her house was better for sleepovers because it was peaceful and more relaxing than mine. Another thing we would do during sleepovers was to gossip about boys we had crushes on. That was the main topic of the night.”
Visiting the mall was also fun for them to do together. “We would walk around and go into our favorite stores, like Claire’s, Limited Too, Barnes and Noble, and Macy’s. My all-time favorite store was Barnes and Noble because I’m a big reader and when it comes to books Barnes and Noble is the best place to go. We also went to the food court to get food from Panada Express and Auntie Anne’s. We talked about topics like school, boys, and how our day was.”
Michele and Sophie also went to church together. “We would go to Sunday School with 50 other teenage youth. Then we would go to the main service with 500 people. The church service would start off with a rock band, which was entertaining. My church was casual, religious, family-friendly, and entertaining. It was also huge compared to other churches in the area. Sometimes when we were bored in church we would write notes to each other on the bulletin about what we were thinking, or we would play tic-tac-toe.”
They also hung out during the summertime. One of the ways they did that was by going to camp together. “The camp was called Hume Lake camp. It was a lot like the camp we do at Brown. There would be time for games, small-group conversations, and cabin time. I really enjoyed going to camp with my best friend because it was nice knowing someone was there that I knew. We were in the same small group. We would go to worship together and eat together.”
Michele also told me about her present-day friendship with Sophie and how physical distance affects their friendship. Currently, her friend lives in Las Vegas, which means Michele and Sophie can’t visit each other in person very often. “We both really like writing letters to each other, because not many people do this anymore, and it is fun to get something in the mail from a friend. I sometimes send a care package that includes tea, a book, a bar of chocolate, and maybe something cozy like a mug or a blanket. I have gotten a care package from Sophie that includes: a journal, a piece of art, stationery, coffee, snacks, sometimes lotion. It makes me feel really happy, and I enjoy it. I think she likes it too. We write about our lives and how we are doing. We connect with each other through Instagram and Facebook. Sometimes we share something funny with each other, and sometimes we share photos of each other. We probably Facetime once a month, talking about memories and how we are doing.”
Michele also talks about how her parents felt about their friendship. “I think my parents were really happy that I had such a great friend. The church was close to where Sophie lived, so it was easy to pick her up on the way to church. My parents really liked Sophie’s family.”
In conclusion, although it requires some effort on their part, Michele and Sophie try to find successful ways to connect with each other during the pandemic. “We are both married, and Sophie has a daughter, so we don’t have as much free time to stay in touch. Also, our schedules are different. We both have to be flexible and make time for each other.”
At the age of 10, the shy but extroverted Michele was a student at Elson Elementry school in California. One day, Michele went into the school ready to learn something new. She went to her assigned seat in the classroom. “I was assigned 6th grade when I was actually in 5th grade. The teacher made this mistake because I was at a higher level at my old school, so he thought I was in 6th grade because of that.” Due to this mix-up, Michele ended up being in the same class as Sophie. They became instant friends and began hanging out a lot.
One way that they hung out was by going to each other’s houses. “When I visited Sophie’s house in the city, it seemed much quieter and more sophisticated than mine. Sophie’s family was part British, so we would have tea and then learn how to make British food, such as Shepard’s pie and marmalade on toast. We would also watch movies together, such as ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ Another favorite memory I have was when we went over to my house and my siblings would try to join in with whatever we were doing. My house was louder and more unruly than hers. In my opinion, I think her house was better for sleepovers because it was peaceful and more relaxing than mine. Another thing we would do during sleepovers was to gossip about boys we had crushes on. That was the main topic of the night.”
Visiting the mall was also fun for them to do together. “We would walk around and go into our favorite stores, like Claire’s, Limited Too, Barnes and Noble, and Macy’s. My all-time favorite store was Barnes and Noble because I’m a big reader and when it comes to books Barnes and Noble is the best place to go. We also went to the food court to get food from Panada Express and Auntie Anne’s. We talked about topics like school, boys, and how our day was.”
Michele and Sophie also went to church together. “We would go to Sunday School with 50 other teenage youth. Then we would go to the main service with 500 people. The church service would start off with a rock band, which was entertaining. My church was casual, religious, family-friendly, and entertaining. It was also huge compared to other churches in the area. Sometimes when we were bored in church we would write notes to each other on the bulletin about what we were thinking, or we would play tic-tac-toe.”
They also hung out during the summertime. One of the ways they did that was by going to camp together. “The camp was called Hume Lake camp. It was a lot like the camp we do at Brown. There would be time for games, small-group conversations, and cabin time. I really enjoyed going to camp with my best friend because it was nice knowing someone was there that I knew. We were in the same small group. We would go to worship together and eat together.”
Michele also told me about her present-day friendship with Sophie and how physical distance affects their friendship. Currently, her friend lives in Las Vegas, which means Michele and Sophie can’t visit each other in person very often. “We both really like writing letters to each other, because not many people do this anymore, and it is fun to get something in the mail from a friend. I sometimes send a care package that includes tea, a book, a bar of chocolate, and maybe something cozy like a mug or a blanket. I have gotten a care package from Sophie that includes: a journal, a piece of art, stationery, coffee, snacks, sometimes lotion. It makes me feel really happy, and I enjoy it. I think she likes it too. We write about our lives and how we are doing. We connect with each other through Instagram and Facebook. Sometimes we share something funny with each other, and sometimes we share photos of each other. We probably Facetime once a month, talking about memories and how we are doing.”
Michele also talks about how her parents felt about their friendship. “I think my parents were really happy that I had such a great friend. The church was close to where Sophie lived, so it was easy to pick her up on the way to church. My parents really liked Sophie’s family.”
In conclusion, although it requires some effort on their part, Michele and Sophie try to find successful ways to connect with each other during the pandemic. “We are both married, and Sophie has a daughter, so we don’t have as much free time to stay in touch. Also, our schedules are different. We both have to be flexible and make time for each other.”
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