Happy childhood memories

I didn't have a particularly happy childhood, nothing traumatic (until my late teens), but I do think I began struggling with depression (at least with SAD) at a fairly young age. But there are some happy memories:

1. Girls Day Out with my piano teacher. Other than my mom, Miss N (name withheld) was my first mentor, long before it became the politically correct thing to do. A few times each year, she'd clear a day on her very busy calendar, pick me up in her baby blue Mustang, and later in her silver Jag (both of with were VERY cool!) and spend the day with me doing something both cultural and fun. We'd always have lunch at a very nice restaurant (or her home) first, then it was either a movie, a museum or shopping in one of the more bohemian artsy shopping districts around town.


2. The summer I spent in Spain between 7th and 8th grade. We flew into Paris for a few days, where I learned that a bidet was NOT intended to wash your feet after stomping grapes like Lucy did on that great I Love Lucy episode. Next we took the train from Paris to Madrid, and finally we landed in Malaga (southern Spain), where we stayed on the campus of the local university for 3 weeks.


3. High school at a small all-girls school. What a welcomed change after years in the public school system where I was literally afraid to go to school each day. It was great to be not only able, but expected to excel academically but also to be able to focus on school, without the obvious distractions of having boys around. It was so much less distracting, in fact, that I graduated in 3 years instead of 4.


4. Spending hours on Sunday afternoon playing with Barbie dolls with my cousin who had every Barbie and Ken doll and accessory ever made. She and I were as close as sisters then.


5. Moving to our new house half-way through 5th grade. Like George and "Weezie" Jefferson, we really moved up on this one. I LOVED that house, the neighborhood and all the great children I met there.


6. Sleepovers at my friends' houses. I especially liked spending the night at Rita's house. Her parents were much much older than my parents or my other friends' parents, but they were really fun. Her mom would drop us off at concerts and then be the only headlights coming into the packed parking lots to pick us up afterwards, literally driving along the grass on the side of the pavement because all the lanes were full of cars heading out of the parking lot.


7. Summers at my Grandmother's house in the country with my other cousin. My grandma was a teacher/principal all her life, so she was into educational activities. There were no computers, videos, ipods, cell phones or anything like that in those days. And our tv time was limited. But we had a blast! When we were younger, Grandma planned all sorts of arts and crafts activities and field trips. Every day was a new adventure. As we got older, we discovered that Grandma has saved all of our mother's prom gowns - there were at least a dozen of them and they were gorgeous. So my cousin and I would play dress-up for hours, strutting down our imaginary catwalks as we pretended to be the world's top models modelling the latest fashions.


8. My first "real" piano recital. I was 7 years old (seriously). I can hardly believe it now, but Maggie C. (who was 9) and I did a full recital on the campus of a Music Conservatory in town. During the first half of the recital, we each performed solo sonatas and concertos. During the second half, we played concerto duets on matching baby grand pianos, followed by a series of classical variations on a theme with the string ensemble from one of the local universities.


9. Performing at the Kennedy Center with the DC Youth Orchestra. I got to play on a concert grand piano. It was awesome!


10. Easter Pink Teas at my church. It was a highly anticipated social event/fundraiser (I think) on Easter Sunday. It was held at a banquet facilities with tons of food, flowers and music. The best part though was that everybody got a fabulous new outfit and all of the women wore beautiful big hats that were perfectly color-coordinated with their outfits.


11. Winning an archery competition when I was about 12 years old. I was definitely not the athletic type and swear I was allergic to anything even remotely related to sports, so this was a great accomplishment and a crowning moment for me.


12. My first "official" boyfriend, Tony L, in the 8th grade. He was the best looking boy in the entire school, and probably the one most frequently sent off to juvenile detention. What is it about bad boys? Needless to say, the nerd and the juvenile delinquent were not a very likely pair. Our romance was short-lived but bittersweet.


13. Graduating from high school. I was a nervous wreck in the weeks leading up to it and the morning of, because I had to deliver the valedictorian speech, but once that was over, what a wonderful day it was!


14. Moving into the mini-apartment over our (attached garage) and feeling like I had my own place. I had a bedroom, bathroom and a second set of steps that led down to the garage (which I never used for some reason). Anyway, I spent a lot of time in that space. It was very cool.


15. Teaching myself new skills. Every summer I picked a new skill to teach myself. Sewing, crocheting, knitting... Whatever I learned to do that summer determined what EVERYBODY on my list would get the following Christmas. I must admit thought that the Christmas after I taught myself to type was a bit problematic.