learning to tie my shoes in kindergarten
kindergarten circus, paper plate dumbbells, and tumbling clowns
stretching in ballet class, walking little fingers down to your toes
claiming to be the special needs kid in preschool so I could sit in the special chair
Mrs. Jendero reading "I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor" out loud
giggles of the kids at the rhyme of "oh heck, it's up to my neck"
bringing my own snack for milk break- a peanut butter sandwich and hot cinnamon candies
trying out the push pews in our new church building
twirling around and around in my full skirted dress at my baptism
the only kid in the primary choir
after dance class, waiting for a friend's dad to pick us up, we would play in a storage room- giggling to pop, and stories and making Phyllis Dillers out of the Christmas ornaments
Piano lessons- my teacher would hold a sharpened pencil under my palms
making mud pies, in broken dishes my neighbors threw out
my sister losing her glasses in the snowbank- we found them next spring
the bike my parents said was my size- I swear it reached to the sky
story time with Dad
my mother, dressed as a witch- making witches brew for our Brownie troop- she had disgusting names for everyday stuff like canned peaches
twirling around with my head on the cafeteria floor, just for fun
mom said my hair looked shiny
standing in lunch lines
always wondering what teachers did in their lounge
the school got new machines, that would sell 2 pencils for 25 cents
Mom made sure I had a quarter, even though I didn't need another pencil
drawing an oak tree in the fall, winning center placement on the bulletin board with it
loving the first teacher who actually took me seriously
waking up to a new birthday outfit laid out to wear to school
hiding one year because I didn't see it, until Mom pointed it out
it was second hand- I was disappointed
Grandma Hunt making noodles for the soup she made for my sick mother
Grandma Ruth making dozens of Christmas cookies, many varieties, all in one day, spread across our kitchen table
Grandma Ione always having gum in her purse when she came to visit
Grandma Bree- always with beads and a hat, skinny and wrinkled with a twinkle in her eye
I got gum stuck to my fingers, Grandma Bree advised that I used a napkin to get it off, All the adults laughed at me as the napkin begin to stick all over my fingers
Grandpa reading poetry to us
Butter and margarine puns at the Thanksgiving table. I had a whale of a time sculpting it, then would it be butter if I worked longer on it, or was it only marginal?
My aunt knitting, darning a sock. I peppered her with questions about what she was doing.
Ripping the broken tiles off the bathtub wall, so they finally redid the whole room
My life slowly separating from my sister's
Grandma Ruth- proudly showing my the rags she made for my baby. I didn't get it. I do myself now.
Dying of sinus infection, but flying in spirit
Moving to Pequot- nothing worked in the new house
First day in Utah- 90 degree, walking alone along the city streets, independent and free
Autumn Meller- her name still brings a smile to my face-some people are just instant friends
Crisp Cold Winter in Nauvoo
When I was told on for bringing a book to a play- only a fifth grader would be so petty to feel a need to tell the teacher you had a book in your pocket and might not actually watch the play, apparently, no one thought about reading on the bus ride
Blowing bubbles in my Sister's hair, everything stuck in her curls
looking in the mirror after Egon was born, the worn out, wrinkled face, with dark circles and drawn expression- life seemed only to exist in the eyes, suggested to me what I always imagined a hag to be
camping under the expense of the desert sky
scenes of eternity opened to me
