I now keep kosher, but at the time I never ventured from my familiar territory of bagels and cream cheese. Me at said barbecue, fisting Ruffles potato chips: IвЂ™ll try one when IвЂ™m 11. My uncle at a family barbecue: Meredith, try a cheeseburger. In my family, this became known as вЂњThe 11 ExcuseвЂќ - and I used it a lot. If вЂњwhat would Hallie and Annie do at age 11?вЂќ was a litmus test for what was considered a grown-up activity, I used my young age as a shield to push back on anything that I deemed scary, uncomfortable, or banal. I would patiently wait until I was 11 to indulge in any seemingly adult pursuits thereafter. I was determined to experience this firsthand, but knew that I couldnвЂ™t rush the process. It was as if upon turning 11, one acquired a sense of complete understanding of how the world works. And, crucially, Hallie and Annie both overcame their differences - вЂњI have class, and you donвЂ™t!вЂќ - to get their parents back together in the name of true love! And brought down Meredith Blake in the process!ДЇor me, age 11 became aspirational - it was a watershed between naivete and clarity.

Hallie and Annie were both extremely confident in their respective poker games. Annie moved HallieвЂ™s camp furniture to the roof of her cabin. But the most important thing? Age 11 is the apex of badassery and the beginning of the rest of your life.ДЄt age 11, Hallie elaborately booby-trapped AnnieвЂ™s bunk. Among the most important: Napa is a place where wine is made, Dennis Quaid is the best-looking dad IвЂ™ve ever seen, not all Merediths are created equal (my name is Meredith Meredith Blake was the only other Meredith IвЂ™d ever known and she was evil ), and the Concorde gets you there in half the time. There were many things I learned from The Parent Trap at a ripe age of 6. She was about to live my dream - she was old enough to go to camp. Needless to say, the second Hallie Parker tries to get her yellow duffle that was buried way in the duffle bag heap, I was mesmerized. Each time I see a group of 10-year-olds stare off into the sunset and sway in time to some camp song, I cry uncontrollably I want nothing more than to be of age to experience camp for myself. IвЂ™m a 6-year-old, cream-cheese-eating chubby girl whoвЂ™s spent the winter watching camp promotional videos with my older sister.

Meredith blake and chessy