Things Remembered

Annoyed. Why is Things Remembered so crowded on a rainy Wednesday night I thought to myself as I waited in a long line to get a gift engraved.

So in true Hadley fashion I turned to the woman and her son waiting next to me in line and struck up a conversation. The son was picking up his attendant gifts for his wedding in three days. We talked about his big day, the rehearsal dinner, and the honeymoon. The mother just smiled and commented here and there about her "baby's" big day. She later told me how embarrassed she was about her old t-shirt and sweats she was wearing, she vowed that she would never come to the mall in this but that she wants to spend every second she can with her son, because he lives in England. I laughed and told her she looks fine, and I understood completely as I don't live close to either of my parents.

Will, Dad, & Me

They both noticed that I was wearing a Race for the Cure t-shirt, and inquired if I was a runner? I thought about making some ridiculous comment, but instead replied "yes, I would like to think of myself as a runner." The conversation went on from there, and ended with them giving me information on a 10K run to benefit mesothelioma. As the mother went onto explain the race tears streamed down her face as she told me it was to benefit her husband who succumbed to the horrible disease recently. I couldn't help but to give her a hug as tears started to stream down my face. As the line dissipated and they got their gifts, we said our goodbyes and as they walked out the son said " by the way, I'm coming home early from my honeymoon for the race, so if you can't make it don't feel bad." I laughed and replied " I will be there."

Me, Will, & Mom

One hour and four minutes. That was my 10k time that rainy Sunday morning. As I ran Burke Lake with people I had never met, benefiting a man I never had the privilege to know I felt so blessed for everything in my life: family, friends, a great job, good health, the list is endless. I approached the mother and son after the race, I never told them my name nor did I know there's so as I reached out my hand to introduce myself I said hi, I'm Hadley the girl from Things Remembered. Olga, hugged me and again we both began to cry. That race, that day, that family are things i will always remember.

Home is where the heart is...

3817 Whitland Ave was the worst thing that could have happened to me, or so I thought when I was 12 years old. We moved from our house on sedberry road, the only place that I had ever lived. Leaving behind the bedroom that I slept with the overhead light on because I was afraid of the dark much to my friends dismay, the front yard that on any given summer day you could find the neighborhood kids playing on the slip-in-slide or with the badminton net, the kitchen floor that I would fall asleep on while waiting for my mom to cook dinner, the backyard cabin that my dad and granddad assembled for my brother and I for Christmas, and the drive way where I learned to ride a bike in { the same day as my older brother did, might I add} to a 12 year old moving, even though it was only 10 minutes away was devastating. A framed picture of my old house hung in my new bedroom for years.

Little did I know that I would fall in love with 3817 Whitland Ave and it would become the house that everyone hung out at, I think that it part was because I had cool parents, now don't misinterpret that for parents who let us drink or have boys over, because that is not Mary and Steve. But my mom always greeted us with a smile and a fresh plate of cookies, and my dad with his humor and foul language. It didn't hurt that we had a finished basement where on any given weekend you could find girls sleeping on mattresses and the futon in the basement. It felt like Elizabeth, Sarah, and I owned that street, and during the summers we did.

CC, Poppy, & Stucky { Elizabeth, Sarah, & I all grown up}

I tell this story quite frequently because i think it's so funny. Will's first day of college a girl sitting next to him in class asked him "where he summers". Being the quick witted guy he is, will swiftly responded with " the same place I winter, spring, and fall" for those who didn't know, Will went to a very prestigious, small school in Connecticut where it was common practice to "summer" somewhere else.

I never really understood the phrase home is where the heart is, until I went away to college. Surrounded by Northerners I become very proud to call myself a Southerner and to let everyone know that I was from Nashville, Music City USA. Now as my family is scattered I have several homes. Nashville, Dallas, Knoxville, etc. so if someone were to ask me where I summer, I can give them a mouth full!

"Lord I guess I went and broke their family tradition"...

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I lovee traditions old and new. I will be the first to say " we have to do it, it's tradition." Maybe it's because I'm the youngest that I am so nostalgic for traditions. And when I say youngest, I don't just mean in my immediate family I mean in the entire extended, family on both sides.

Will & me on Christmas morning

some of the Hines family at Calloway Gardens

As the years have gone on our traditions have changed. I have learned that it's not the tradition itself that was always so important to me, but the people that I shared it with and the new people who we have shared our traditions with. We adapt to include those that we love and begin to start new traditions.

There are some traditions however, that will never stop: Sticky buns for breakfast on Christmas morning, Christmas Eve at the Conrads, Calloway Garden Christmas lights, homemade gifts, Whitland 4th of July.

Birthdays, they're like your own personal holiday, or at least I like to think so. Call me on my birthday and my response will be "birthday girl speaking" I have defiantly had some memorable birthdays in my time: petting zoo and poney rides in our front yard, Vandy cheerleaders teaching us cheers, bowling birthday parties where i insisted on wearing my bright yellow "hadley" shirt even though my gut hung out making me look more like homer Simpson than a 12 year old girl.

Birthday girl turns 21

More recently my 18th birthday with Officer Buck Naked, my 21st birthday where one mud slide got me up on a chair clapping and dancing to happy birthday, while Nathan stood behind me just waiting for my silver heels to slide out form under me. As I get older it's the people I get to spend my birthday with that are the best gifts. For my 21st Tanner and my mom surprised me with a visit, last year Will, Kristin, & my dad and this past year I got my daddy again. this year my roommates, Katie & Lisa added a little bit of color to my birthday and Lis left a lasting impression, shooting me right in the middle of the forehead with her nerf gun. I guess it goes back to the whole Her Royal Highness thing, I love to be the center of attention! Equally as much as my own birthday i love celebrating friends and families birthdays!

“The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” Lucille Ball

Not so Domestic Goddess

cherry pies are not supposed to be white. Well, some how I managed to make mine white. Fudge pies are not meant to be liquid, well, somehow I managed to make one that would have been easier to consume through a straw than with a fork. let's just say everyone who ate that pie, lived to regret it...



Growing up we had a home cooked meal every night, and every Sunday we grilled out: typically pork chops or "Hines burgers." Typically dinner is a time for people - family, friends, loved ones- to get together to share a meal and enjoy each others company. Junior year of high school we decided to cook dinner for our boyfriends: I was in charge of the chicken... let's just say thank goodness for 10 minute rice because that's all we ate that night!

My culinary skills have improved over the years, this impart is due greatly to my patience level increasing. However, I can never cook a Crockpot meal, while I'm at home because I take the lid off every 10 minutes to check on it! One thing I learned the hard way is that the old saying "different strokes for different folks" defiantly applies to appetites. One of my favorite desserts is Chess pie { for those of you who've never had it it's basically a pecan pie without the pecans} I made it for our friend Thanksgiving dinner 2 years ago, one of my best friends, Lisa was the first to take a bite. She gasped, and spit it out. It went downhill from there. Recently I decided to give the ole Chess Pie another shot... they loved it! Maybe our tastes mature with age, or maybe my culinary skills were awful.

My favorite sandwich will always be peanut butter and cheese, and my favorite meal will always be chicken fingers and fries-- guess my tastes are yet to mature!

Nicknames

Hadley. When I tell people that’s my name, it’s usually followed by “wow, that’s very unique”, or “Hadley?” as if they are making sure that I in fact said my name was Hadley, and not Hayley or something like it. Megan, my very first roommate in college called me to discuss our living situation. “ Hi is Hadelee there?” she said, “ yes, this is Hadley” I responded in a very snarky tone. She has been one of my very best friends ever since. Growing up I was never too fond of my name, but then again most people don’t call me Hadley. For my friends it’s : Hads, Hines, HRH, Stucky, Bubba, the list goes on and on. I love my full name, Hadley Rebecca Hines, because of my initials: HRH – Her Royal Highness. Growing up my favorite t-shirt said “treat me no differently than you would the queen”, words to live by, let me tell you! For those of you who didn’t know me until later in life, I’m sure this explains a lot!

Bubba Chunk. Bubba for short. The name, Bubba Chunk started at the "kids" Thanksgiving table about 15 years ago. I was probably on my fourth helping of Thanksgiving dinner, when Will, my brother so affectionalty referred to me "Bubba Chunk" and thus it all began... I will be the first to admit it, I was fat, fat probably doesn’t do it justice I was HUGE, tipping the scales at 168 in the 3^rd grade; my mom still claims I was just right. How do you get Hadley off the diving board? You get her brother to stand at the bottom with a box of crispy creme donuts. How do you get Hadley to walk around Williamsburg without complaining? Promise her fudge. I could retell countless examples when food was the reason I got to the end result.

Stucky. I never had sisters, but Elizabeth and Sarah are about as close to it as they come. We spent almost every summer together starting in the 5^th grade when the Hines family moved onto Whitland Avenue. Sarah had a tree house in her front yard that we played in all the time. Elizabeth- who had a broken arm at the time- and I were playing in their front yard, when the neighborhood boys started attacking us with water guns. I decided to seek refuge in the tree house. As I squeezed my women’s size 18 body in between the tree and the ladder i reached the top. I got my arms through and half of my upper body, but the rest just wouldn’t fit. I was stuck. As my legs dangled below the open hole, my new nickname ‘stuck’.

1926

Work friends, at a Sunday dinner party!

My very first friends at work, still my very favorite.

One day last summer I spent six hours in a hot kitchen at the fairgrounds in Northern Virginia making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for 2,500 Girl Scouts who were camping all weekend. That’s passion.

Last January I modeled our cookie costumes so our volunteers would have an idea of what they looked like. Pictures of me wearing giant Thin Mints and Tagalongs were sent out to several Girl Scout volunteers in the Northern Virginia area. That’s passion. I work and volunteer at evening events and on the weekends.

I love what I do, Girl Scouting is my passion.

Ketchup with Hines 2036. That was my campaign slogan for my Presidential campaign. Politics was my passion for years. But as my sophomore year in college came to an end, my career path changed. Girl Scouting was a huge part of my life growing up, and I decided I wanted to make a career out of my passion. I changed my major from government to communication and I was determined to work for the Girl Scouts. I had a professor in college; I like to call him the Mr. Springman of George mason who always encouraged me to go after my passion. He made phone calls on my behalf, and mentored me throughout my collegiate career. Because of my professor, family, and friends I am able to work everyday at a job that I love and I am passionate about.

Money gets in the way of people following their passions. Working for a non-profit, at least in my case will never make me rich. I have learned to measure wealth not in monetary terms, but in smiles of my Daisy troop each meeting, in the number of girls my donations send to summer camp, in our wonderful volunteers who have full time jobs but still find the time to dedicate to Girl Scouting, and last but certainly not least in the number of Girl Scout Cookies I get to eat on any given day. The amount of joy I get out of my job, my passion, makes me wealthier than most.

I sent my resume once a week for six months until I was given an interview. I’m not sure if it was because they were sick of me, or because I offered to accept cookies as a form of payment but I finally got the job. Almost two years later I’m still here, and Girl Scouting is still my passion. My coworkers in Leesburg and in the DC office have become my Girl Scout Family.