I guess I was a touch shy as a child, but I was also a bit goofy.

Little me, at pre-kindergarten graduation with my diploma on my nose.

At a young age (maybe 6 or 7) I remember goofing around with friends, laughing and making silly noises.

I also clearly remember doing something similar around a neighbor who was the same age as me. She looked at me funny, and said, “why are you doing that?”

There wasn’t a reason, just to have fun! But that was probably the first time, at least that I can remember, of being self-conscious.

As I moved from childhood into adolescence, the goofiness waned. I became more self-conscious. I was cautious when expressing opinions; careful to go along with the crowd.

I wore (usually ugly) glasses from when I was in fifth grade until I was finally allowed to get contacts at 16. I had braces for two years; those were taken off prior to the start of my sophomore year of high school.

Even though I was no longer in that “awkward” stage for most of high school, I still felt like I was. All the people at school knew the old me, most of them treated me like I was still her.

Going away to college was the best thing for me. I got a fresh start, made new friends, and began to interact and open up more freely. It’s also where I met my husband.

On the drive home from my freshman year, my father told me that college turned me weird.

It didn’t.

Contrary to popular belief, my husband didn’t turn me weird, either.

He just helped me recover my lost goofiness!

We’ve been together for a long time. You first came to me at Christmastime when I was in sixth grade. That was over 20 years ago!

You helped me through the bad-hair eighties (actually, it was mostly your fault!). You helped me get through junior high dances and high school proms. You came away with me to college, and moved with me into my first house.

But now it’s time I let you go. You’re probably not safe anymore. I’m sorry. I’ll miss you!

So 1986, isn’t it?

OK, so I’ve spent the entire day cleaning and organizing my bathroom, partially because I needed to put away the new hair dryer I got for Christmas. It’s been sitting in the living room ever since. But, the bathroom really needed to be cleaned/organized, anyway!

That’s what little girls are made of.

When I was four or five, my family went to the zoo. I had the option to have my photograph taken with either a rabbit or a boa constrictor. My choice.

I’m sorry I don’t have a copy of the resulting photograph to share with you, but there is a lovely image of little me with a boa around my shoulders. It has been on display in my parents’ home for years.

The photo you see here is the eel I caught while fishing with my grandmother. (I am five years old, wearing a “Mork and Mindy” bathing suit!) My grandparents used to take me camping, and we would fish. In all the times I’ve gone fishing, I have never caught a fish.

This eel was my first catch. It was a freshwater eel, caught in a lake.

A summer or two later, we were fishing on a pier in the Atlantic Ocean, and I caught another eel. There are no pictures of me holding that guy … he had nasty teeth! He squirmed, anyway, and broke the line.

Then my goofy cousin tried to re-catch it with his fishing pole (of course, it was still attached to my hook).

I wasn’t a tomboy, though. Just not a girly-girl. I guess I just wasn’t afraid of things most little girls are afraid of!

Apparently, I did as a child. It’s starting to look like I always wore them, actually.

It became apparent when we were at my parents’ house over Christmas. They moved last spring, and this was the first time we saw their new house. I guess some of the pictures that have always been hanging up caught my attention again, since they were in different locations.

There were several family vacations documented. In all of them, what I was wearing could hardly be considered shorts. It’s a good thing I was under 12 in all of them, but still …

I’ve been scouring through the photos I have at home and found an example taken with Minnie and my brother. It’s not quite as bad as what’s in my parents’ kitchen. But still, pretty short. How do you like that snazzy ensemble? It was terry cloth.

I guess I can almost redeem myself by the fact that my brother seems to be wearing a hand-me-down?

It’s pretty obvious that my mother let me dress myself for kindergarten in the photo on the left, huh?

When I was eight or nine, we were having Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents’ house. My grandmother would not be serving a turkey that year, instead there would be ham.

I was horrified that there would not be turkey. I’m pretty sure there was A LOT of complaining. How could you have a Thanksgiving without turkey?

To appease the irritated child, we had a non-traditional turkey instead.
See photo: me with ice cream cake, circa 1983 or 1984. I don’t know why I was wearing a suit.

Nowadays, I’m a vegetarian, and have been enjoying Tofurky feasts for years!