Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Seven Things You Might Not Know

About Me

1. I lived in Winslow Arizona for one year.  It was the same year the Eagles' song "Take It Easy came out" (you know the one, "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona...")

2.  I was 10 when I lived in Winslow.  That was also the year I knocked out my two front teeth. My theme song for the year was, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth."

3.  I was one of those kids who got good grades and who followed the rules.

4.  Because I was that kid, other students would often try to copy my test answers.  I grew tired of trying to hide my answers. Instead, whenever I noticed another student copying my paper, I'd write down the wrong answers.  After they would turn in their test, I would erase the wrong ones and put in the right ones.

5.  When I was in 3rd grade I got in trouble for using too much scratch paper.  When we finished our work, we were allowed to draw on scratch paper.  I longed to be praised for being a great artist instead of getting good grades. I thought when my teacher saw my 2 inch stack of papers, she would declare how beautiful my artwork was.  Instead I was chastised for wasting so much paper and told I could only use 3 sheets per day. Okay, most of them were tracings of my hands and then I would spend time adding beautifully colored nails and adorning my fingers with brightly colored rings and bracelets.  Imagine if this was today, I'd probably have added tatoos to the back of my hands. It turned out to be a good thing though, as I began using my free time to read.

6. In Kindergarten, on the first day of school, I begged my mom to let me walk home by myself. We lived a mile away, but she let me do it. I only knew the route the car drove. Later, my siblings shared a short cut with me. I was very thankful for that shortcut.

7. On that first walk home from school, about halfway, I was hot, lonely and tired of walking. I believed in magic, so I took off my sweater and laid it on the ground.  I sat down on the sweater, making sure not even a toe was touching the ground. I closed my eyes and wished for the sweater to become a magic carpet and fly me home. I imagined soaring off into the distance and how surprised my mom would be when I arrived. I spoke every magical word I could think of, but both my sweater and I remained firmly planted on the asphalt. I have no idea how long I sat in the in the road wishing, but eventually I picked myself up and trudged the rest of the way home.


Truthfully,
Joanne


"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Cor. 13:11)

2 comments:

~Tammy~ said...

Love it! I was also that child who followed the rules... and I was oblivious to those who copied my answers. Once, when all the kids had to swap papers to grade (trade papers with the person in front/ across/ whichever) and then the teacher called correct answer. I failed a test. One kid scored a 100% and approached the teacher to say there was something wrong... how could Tammy have failed, when he copied all my answers and got 100%? He was rebuked for copying, but the kid who graded my paper was sent to the office... he said he didn't like me so marked all my answers wrong!

Elisabeth said...

Hehe I love the magic carpet ride story!