Age 6 First Grade: There’s a bra in my lunchbox

Oct 21

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This is the 3rd post in a 12 week series joining
Mommy’s Piggy Tales to record my youth!

1985-1986
First Grade
 
 
I started 1st grade in 1985 when I was 6 years old.
 
 

 
 

 
My teacher was Mrs. Conley but she got married in 1986 so all of her students after me (including my sister) know her as Mrs. Sylvester.

 

 
Mrs. Conley/Sylvester decorated every inch of the classroom.
 
She loved teddy bears.
Mrs. Conley/Sylvester was my most favorite teacher. I’m not sure why I loved her so much, but I did. Actually, everyone did. You can ask almost anyone in my school who their favorite teacher was and they would tell you it was Mrs. Sylvester (or Mrs. Conley depending).  The last time I saw her it was 2006, she had been retired for years at this point, and she was at a production of the school’s musical.  After it was over she was swarmed with students of all ages waiting to give her a hug (I was one of them!).  There was just something about her.  I loved her so much that I invited her to my party when I graduated high school…and she came!  Anytime that I saw her she always remembered me and knew my name.  She still called me Jenny even though others had been calling me Jenn for years.
 

 
 School Projects

Here’s a school project that I found. I must’ve written it in 2nd grade, but it happened when I was in first grade. Please enjoy, “A Ghostly Tale”.

 

 
 
 

 

What? Isn’t everyone’s mom a disembodied head? No? Hmm, must just be mine then.
  
  
  
 
  
This drawing of my family cracks me up.

 
+First of all, I have no idea why I drew my dad wearing a top hat. Maybe I drew this during his brief stint as a chimney sweep (I know that ya’ll think that’s a joke, but I’m actually serious.).
+Next I actually laughed out loud when I saw that I had drawn my grandma on the sofa. That’s were we kept her, ya know…on the sofa. Did you put your coat back in the closet? Yes, mommy. Did you put your toys in the toybox? Yes, mommy. Did you put your Grandma back on the sofa? Yes, mommy.
She really did spend a lot of time sitting on that sofa. She would somehow get up, steal your glass, wash it, and sit back down on the sofa without anyone seeing her do it. You had no idea she had even moved until you noticed that your glass was missing. She has super powers. 
 

+I have no idea why my Uncle Alan appears to have, um, shall we say “ladies parts”. Maybe I’ve really blocked out a lot from my childhood, haha.  I’m hoping that’s supposed to be a bow tie, although, he never wore one that I recall.
+I don’t know why there are so many dogs and cats in this picture. We did not have any dogs or cats. 
+I’m not really sure why my Aunt Clare is sitting on the chair with her legs kicked up. But what really strikes me as odd is her hair. Below is a photo of my aunt around the time that I drew this. Maybe you can figure out what’s wrong with my drawing.

  

 
 
 
 

Obviously I have an incredibly creative mind 😉

 

Don’t trade lunches with Jenny
 
For whatever reason in 1985 I became quite obsessed with wanting a bra. I was begging my mom for one. She told me “no” several times. Finally, she decided that she would get me a bra. When I opened it I was so excited and I decided that I’d wear it to school the next day. That thing was awful! It was so uncomfortable I could barely stand it. I was pulling at it and scratching at myself all day long. Finally during lunch I just couldn’t take it anymore. Like so many women before me (and after me), I put my arms inside my sweater and I removed my bra without taking my shirt off…right in the middle of the cafegymatorium. One of the lunch ladies saw and came up to yell at me. “What are you doing with that?! You can’t have that in here…put that away!” So I balled it up and stuffed it in the pocket of my jean skirt. It bulged out like a huge lump in my pocket and was very obvious. I didn’t care. I was so glad to have that contraption off of my body! Once I was done eating I put the bra inside my awesome metal Popples lunch box.
 
 
 My mother, being the crafty genius that she is, decided to find me the most itchy, scratchy, uncomfortable bra that she could possibly find. This way I’d be quiet about wanting a bra and I’d see that growing up too fast isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. The joke was on her 5 years later when I actually needed a bra and she had to practically wrestle me into one! I had no desire to ever wear one again after my traumatic experience in the first grade. But that’s another story for another time. 
  
 
 

Here’s more school work that I found. It’s not dated so I’m not sure what year this is from. What cracked me up is what I had written on the back of the paper (clearly I laugh at myself a lot).

 

 
 I’m wondering if this was the same day I wore that bra to school! I guess we’ll never know.

 
  
You can read about my 6th birthday here:
Jenn’s 6th Birthday Party 1985

My Piggy Tales:
*My Birth Story: I’m always late!
*Ages 3-5: Dancing in a box
*Age 6 First Grade: There’s a bra in my lunchbox!
*Age 7 Second Grade: Bossy Wheels and Shady Deals
*Age 8 Third Grade: I will not talk in class
*Age 9 Fourth Grade: I didn’t really need those fingers anyway!
*Age 10 5th Grade: Nothing’s Scary in the Fifth Grade
*Age 11 6th Grade: Jenny Got Ran Over by her Grandma
*Age 12 7th Grade: Youth Camp Stinks
*Age 13 8th Grade: “Talent” Show
*Age 14 9th Grade: (N)O Christmas Tree
*Age 15 10th Grade: The Newsboys Wouldn’t Ditch Their Friends
*Age 16 11th Grade: Acrophobia Gets You the Good Seats
*Age 17 12th Grade: In School Suspension

My Young Adult Years
*Dreams and Aspirations: The Long Road There
*Friends and Fellowship: Friends Don’t Get Friends Grounded
*My First Job
*How I Met Cool Daddy Part 1
*How I Met Cool Daddy Part 2
*Colonel Mustard on a Rollercoaster with a Plastic Fork

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Posted on October 21, 2010, in Flashbacks, Mommy's Piggy Tales and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink. 18 Comments.

  1. Memories by Christine | October 21, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    Awesome post!!! I also wanted a bra so badly but waited until I was in 4th grade (Hey…good idea for my Piggy Tales story in a few weeks…:). I laughed out loud at your story. The commentary on your drawings is hilarious. Great job and I love your blog:)

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    • CoolMama | October 22, 2010 at 1:18 am

      Thanks so much, Christine! It’s nice when you can take the weird (and maybe even embarassing) moments of your childhood and make someone laugh 🙂 I can’t wait to read your bra story in a few weeks. And here’s some ironic trivia: for five years I worked as the manager of lingerie in a department store! I guess I wasn’t too badly traumatized after all. Darn it. What will I talk to the therapist about next week? 😉

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  2. Retha Barton | October 21, 2010 at 5:37 pm

    That’s GREAT! It sorta reminds me of a 4th grade experiance with a maxi pad… lol.
    Your a great story teller!

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  3. scrapbookeasy | October 21, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    What a funny story! You had me laughing out loud. Love the itchy bra, the picture of your blond haired aunt who actually is a brunette and all your drawings! I wish I could draw that good at 6! I really enjoyed your story, thanks for sharing!

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    • CoolMama | October 22, 2010 at 1:27 am

      Thanks, Maureen! I really have no idea what was going on with that drawing 🙂 What’s even stranger than my not-blond aunt is the fact that not one aunt on either side of my family has blond hair (with the exception of 2 great-aunts who are married into the family). In fact I’m the only one in my family with blond hair…and it’s a darker blond with red.

      I actually look at those drawings and laugh about how bad they are! I sure hope that once my daughter gets old enough to draw I can be encouraging instead of just looking at her and going, “What the heck is this supposed to be?!” I need many, many prayers 🙂

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  4. Becky | October 22, 2010 at 2:18 am

    I literally laughed out loud at the disembodied heads. 🙂 I like the Popples lunch box too!

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  5. Christine | October 22, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    I love that you still have all this stuff! So adorable and funny, I really enjoyed this.

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  6. Lynnet Hardwick | October 23, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    I loved your story and the pictures you had to go with it. Family picture was cute, you drew better then, than I do now! Can’t wait to see what you write about next week.

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    • CoolMama | October 26, 2010 at 1:39 pm

      Thanks Lynnet!

      I did have some wicked mad art skills back then 😉 I don’t know what I’ll be writing about this week yet. Now I’m starting to feel the pressure to make each post better than the last…it’s really make me dig to remember those funny stories!

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  7. Chaplain Donna | October 23, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    What a trip down memory lane! It was your history but it made me think of my young years. Very good post, I bet it was really moving for you!

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    • CoolMama | October 26, 2010 at 1:41 pm

      Thanks Chaplain Donna! It’s flattering to know that my weird stories can trigger memories in others. I hope you’ll have the chance to write them down someday. I do love looking back and I think that preserving memories for future generations is important. Thanks so much for stopping by 🙂

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  8. dusti | October 28, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    i love that you included some of your school work and incorporated your stories around your pictures.
    blessings

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    • CoolMama | October 30, 2010 at 1:04 am

      Thanks, dusti! I had an idea of which stories I wanted to tell, but then when I found the schoolwork I knew that I had to include it. It’s so neat to look back on things we did, said, and drew as kids. I’m so glad that I’m recording my stories for my kids!

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

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