Elementary school had 2nd through 6th grade in the same building. The playground out back had a tire swing known for tilting. You had to hold on tight, or you were sure to take flight. My 2nd grade teacher, she was real nice. But made me read Green Eggs and Ham to the class twice. I had it memorized, that book was the perfect size. I read it so quickly the first time through. She said, “You’ll have to read that again. You know that don’t you?” I was so nervous, but I did. Made me feel like a pretty cool kid. What wasn’t so cool, was the cheese of the week. I felt like such a geek. Your picture was posted on a big bulletin board. That sure made my anxiety soar. Turned out not to be so bad, I may have even liked it a tad. Of course, I didn’t know that at first, I thought it would be the worst.
We planted seeds in Styrofoam cups, to take home for Mother’s Day. Set them on the windowsill, watering them every day. While keeping track of its growth in a book. For a second-grade project, a lot of patience it took. That’s when I found out I have no green thumb. My seed never grew into a plant, it was so dumb. Each day in my book I wrote that it was dead, even though it was watered and fed. There was nothing more I could do. Sorry Mom, “No Mother’s Day plant for you.” Her favorite part was the book anyway, she said. “Let’s face it, it’s dead.” is what it read. I really should’ve learned from this. Instead, I hoped maybe plants were just hit or miss. In my twenties I bought pre planted bamboo. Yep, I killed that too. They swore to me I couldn’t. Moral is, with plants, I just shouldn’t.
Third grade, I’ll never forget that teacher. She made me want to hide under a bleacher. I got a bad grade on a spelling test. Even though I had tried my best. She showed the whole class, that Jessica didn’t pass. Maybe, that’s why tests always scared me. If I didn’t do well, were those teachers going to embarrass me? Man, that must’ve been a tough year, cause I can only remember bad things real clear. We had a magic show and everyone had to participate. A missing thumb with a carrot in its place, was supposed to be an easy trick to demonstrate. Nope, not for me, that carrot wanted free. Dropped straight to the floor and started to roll away. All I could do was chase it and pray. It was one of those things you’re told you’ll laugh about later. At the time I couldn’t help but hate her. Not that it was her fault. That trick, she hadn’t taught. In retrospect, she probably meant well. Though at the time, I sure couldn’t tell.
Fourth grade, I really liked a boy that year. He gave me a teddy bear or was it a reindeer? Either way, I can’t forget when he held my hand. I actually, heard not too long ago now, he’s in a band. I hope his number one fan is his wife. And he is living a great life. I’m not sure if he is even married. Things I heard about old classmates has varied. That was also the year I made a new best friend. Little did I know she’d become like a sister then. She played a major role in who I am today. We were together almost every day. Almost thirty years, we shared all our fears.
Fifth grade was when I conquered math. Started out with me catching my mom’s wrath. I was struggling with my multiplication facts. Tried to avoid them to the max. On the verge of failing, my mom put me in the afterschool program…….
Hold that thought. I’ll come back to finish this.
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