Thinking back

This morning, my favorite radio guys (other than NPR) were talking about school kids, and it made me think back: what was I like in school? While I don't have the elephant-like memory that some do about those days (Beth, this means you!), I was able to remember a little bit when I put my mind to it.

Through my younger grade school days (which I spent in public school), I was quiet and studious, but also friendly. In the very early days, my friend Brian would come over for lunch or snacks after morning kindergarten, and we fed our hot dogs to the dog, finding that funny. A few years later, I experienced the joy of chicken pox, thanks to Brian passing it along as a party favor at his birthday party. More than the academics, I remember things like the fluoride treatments, the book fairs (my FAVORITE event of the year!) and the kids who were my closest friends.

In the fifth grade, I transferred to a Catholic grade school. There, my academic bent came into greater focus. Sandra Day O'Connor was appointed to the Supreme Court and I thought for the first time that I might want to be a lawyer. The "Fifth Grade Movie" for girls-only was stunning to me, because my mother had not taken it upon herself to break the news to my privately about what women deal with on a monthly basis. Accordingly, my reaction was to faint during the movie, overwhelmed by the many years of inconvenience and ickiness that lay before me. Our class was small (rarely more than 20 kids or so), and even so, they had a small breakout math group for two of the boys and me. My love for sports bloomed as I participated in summer softball and school basketball. I was still studious, was less quiet and started what would be a long history of spending more time hanging out with guys than girls.

So you can imagine my dismay when my mother determined that I would attend a girls' Catholic school, rather than my local public school. What--school without boys?!?! But after I became used to it, I loved my new school, including the fact that I didn't have to think about what to wear (uniforms!), wore no makeup to school and realized the sky was the limit as to what I could accomplish there. I believe it was in that setting that I truly came into my own (for better or for worse) as the outspoken and ususally confident person I am today . . . I still remember one nun's pronouncement: "Lisa [last name], you have the MOST obnoxious laugh!"
Thanks for indulging me on my trip down memory lane . . .