Timeline

Once again Superhero Journal has sparked my interest in writing to my blog. She was inspired by Mighty Girl (perhaps a side kick?)... anyway here goes:

My first decade

Age 1: I am told by our family lore that my mom watched fireworks in 90 degree heat desperately hoping I would make my appearance.

Age 2: Mom goes out -most likely to feel like a person again and to get a breather from my sister and me- babysitter left to calm me as I scream and pound on our back door for a very long time. Have deep sense of fear she will not come back (of course she did and probably with a new dress, hairdo and refreshed mind).

Age 3: Preschool - love playing on the huge very colorful "train" jungle gym in the school yard. (Much later in life, I drive by old preschool and see said train - looks very small. )

Age 4: Get ColorForms Haunted House toy - this toy is a plastic version of felt pieces you place on and take off a background image. I Spend endless hours absorbed by placing items around the haunted house background. The pieces included witches, bats and other Halloween items. I spend further hours making up stories about the house, what is going on inside.

Age 5: Kindergarten, in an effort to make sure our teeth would not rot out of heads the public school system has us do some kind of fluoride dye test. We swish and rinse, to see if our teeth are indeed roting. Repeatedly told - do not swallow evil liquid fluoride dye, it will make you sick. I make a huge effort to not swallow but Amy Gormon does not. Shortly after swishing activity she wretches loudly and at full force upon the table we are sitting at. By pure chain reaction I follow suit as does the boy sitting next to me. Teacher scolds us for 1) Puking - 2) swallowing the fluoride dye. I remember going home and telling my mom over and over I didn't drink the dye.

Age 6: First grade - attend private school - start to write cursive letters perfectly except they are all backwards. Mom and dad tell school this unique talent is also something Leonardo daVinci did - just hold it up to a mirror - see no problem! Uptight private school assumes my left handed backwards writing can be easily fixed by jacking me up on Ritalin. Fall asleep regularly in classroom. I remember my first grade teacher telling me not to put my head on the desk. Mom and dad tell school - just say no to drugs (way before Nancy Reagan btw)... private school says I take the drugs or can go somewhere where reading backwards writing is accepted. Mom and Dad put me back at public school hoping that they will not notice my unusual writing skills. Public school doesn't care.

Age 7: Meet best friend in second grade and embark on a friendship that will last a lifetime.

Age 8: Make plans to run away and hang out in foothills behind our suburb with best friend but foiled by older sister. Dad takes best friend and me camping, fishing and hiking in the California Sierras. Some of the best days of my life.

Age 9: I am allowed to iron my dads hankies in front of the TV. I am standing on a stool and doing my best to get all the wrinkles out. The Flying Nun is on and then a special news report breaks in and announces that the last plane from Saigon has landed in the United States. I have a very specific memory of men walking down the stairs of the airplane onto the tarmac. I also remember feeling very sad and not knowing why.

Age 10: Mom and Dad rent large RV camper in July, pack my moody teenage sister, one paranoid dog and drive us across the USA and back. Begin serious addiction to wanderlust and realize there is a very big world to explore. Remember the great sentenial celebration across the entire USA.