Do you remember those dances held during junior high and high school? How you and your friends would spend hours pre-dance talking about what you'd wear, how you'd do your hair, and...giggle, blush, giggle...who might ask you to dance? Only those dances never quite ended up how we envisioned, at least not in my school. Inevitably, the guys huddled near the far, heavily-shadowed wall while the girls spent their time crying in the bathroom or trying to comfort their near hysterical friend hiding in the stall.
At least in Junior High. High School got a little better and people actually danced, and the bathrooms were far less crowded with splotchy-faced, sniffling girls.
But reading this week's excerpts actually brought me back even further...to sixth grade.
We didn't have dances--instead, our school hosted skating parties. Do you remember those? "Elvirah" blaring from those gigantic speakers while a disco ball lit up the room, making that feather pinned in your hair really stand out. (Those have come back, btw. Seriously.) We'd do the hokey-pokey, skate on one foot, then backward...but what the girls waited for, holding their breath and scanning the glittering room for their short, waif-thin and equally shy hero, was when the DJ announced, "Find a parnter!"
Now here's where it gets really fun, and extremely embarrassing, but remember I was a stupid kid with absolutely no life....
Who knew come skating party time, a boy--maybe even the boy--might hold my hand. Oh, the very thought made my stomach twirl.
In preparation, I slathered lotion on my hands the week leading up the event--and I mean slathered. Then, I'd rub it in and hold my hand out to my mom. "Are my hands soft? Feel them."
She'd laugh and feel my hand. Then I'd slather on more. "Feel them now."
She remained patient for about three or four applications.
What about you? Any stupid, cheek-burning stories to share?
Be sure to come meet our competing authors this week on http://www.
I don't personally have any stories to share. I wish I did! I refused to participate much in the dances. I'd go but I was the shy wallflower who was never asked to dance. I never had a boyfriend in jr. high or high school. I was incredibly picky and focused on school. I feel that all that paid off in the end though! The first time I met my husband, he was walking off a plane. We'd seen pics of each other (we met online) but he looked completely different when coming off the plane. I'd seen a pic of him with a beard. He'd shaved it off before coming to see me. Needless to say, I walked all the way to baggage claim with this man and never said a word. Finally, before getting to my car, I looked at him and said, "You are Michael, right?" How embarrassing it would have been had that not been him!! What about you?
No comments:
Post a Comment