Keepsakes

Posted: May 1, 2014 | Author: Mika | Filed under: Secret Garden |Leave a comment

Some gems from first grade.

Here you have it, proof that I once was not very good at spelling. Check out that bottom line! Half of the last sentence is misspelled. Impressive.

As far as I can tell, the egg itself says “”Ninga Egg” which I assume is meant to be “Ninja Egg.” TMNT was a thing at the time, right? And maybe it’s a Cadbury creme egg oozing out there.

I might get some details wrong here [I was only in first grade, after all], and I’m sure my family will correct me in the comments if I do, but what I remember is that my dad – who was in the Air Force at the time – was deployed to England during the Gulf War. My six-year-old brain could not figure out why he went there when the fighting was somewhere else, yet I still worried that he would die in combat. And . . . even better . . . he was a nurse in the Air Force, so the chances of him being injured or killed in combat – in England – were pretty nonexistent. But I worried as a six-year-old does that the world, in its inexplicably complicated ways, would find a way of making my fears a reality. My dad didn’t die, though (thankfully), and in the picture I drew a school kit he brought back with a pencil case, pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener. I don’t actually remember this school kit; I do remember British Monopoly, a bear or puppet bear, and a bookmark. Still have the bookmark.

I sound way more cheerful as a child than I do as an adult. Huh.

I’m not sure why this is posed as a question. Was it a cloudy day? Was I having a philosophical moment? Regardless, happy 7th birthday, Jarom! Oh wait – here’s the reverse of this page:

Wow. I made my own teacher-comments. That is great. I do vaguely remember my dad coming to my class, which is obviously a big deal as it’s about the only thing I remember from first grade. My teacher’s name was Ms. Bocox, and boom. End of first grade memories.

So, question. What did my dad talk about when he came to my class? No idea! But, in a memory attached to this one, we made a thank-you poster for him afterwards. I remember this because we had to figure out how to spell Lieutenant. Which I have just noticed starts with “lieu,” and I will now have no trouble spelling. (Wait, did I just admit to not being sure how to spell lieutenant until a minute ago?)

This is by far my favorite. Here we have a Latina girl being carried away/dropped by a large bird, crying out for her Latino lover to HELP! SAVE ME! We had recently gotten new across-the-street neighbors; my new idol was their oldest daughter, Esmeralda, who was 3 years older than me. Plus, I grew up in an extremely diverse area, so I’d already had lots of friends of different ethnicity. I felt so boring and plain with my shockingly white skin and blonde hair. Far better to have beautifully black hair and lovely skin! I just wish I knew the background of this little story. Why is she being carried off by a (guessing here) pelican from her romantic dinner date? Sigh. Such a mystery.

Okay, two things. 1. My teacher used the wrong “your” and it makes me cringe. 2. HOLY EARLY NINETIES! Check out that hair! And the sleeves on my dress! I’m so proud of this drawing as what is most likely how I envisioned myself looking, not how I actually looked. That’s right, I desperately wanted to have awesome hair and puffy sleeves. Unsure what’s up with the splotches on the dress, but overall, I am thrilled with how this turned out.

While I’ve been writing this post, I’ve been trying to recall what else was notable about first grade. So far, nothing. What do you remember about being in first grade? And which of my pictures is your favorite?

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