One of my favorite memories of elementary school is running around the tennis court singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" to my friend. Who knew she would be such a big part of my life? Well I did! We've been friends since head start. What stands out about this memory is the fact that I was wearing a dress. I had no choice. Girls were not allowed to wear pants to school back then. This is where I should say I had to walk two miles barefoot in the snow to and from school up hill both ways but the fact of the matter was that the boys wore the pants and the girls wore dresses. There were no air conditioners either. The air consisted of open windows and a fan blowing hard enough to make your hair stand out straight. If you were lucky enough to be near one.
Some might have called me "teacher's pet." I prefer to think of it as being an amazing student. Besides, is there anything wrong with being the favorite one? I didn't think so either.My cousin didn't like it one bit but she had a bit of a talking problem-she could talk just fine, she just couldn't stop. I know it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my aunt did wet sets on most of my elementary school teachers. She also did the hair of the dearly departed for the local funeral home. She stayed pretty busy to say the least.
My how things changed when I went to the sixth grade.Girls could wear pants! Every sixth grader in the whole district, there were only three elementary schools, attended school together. What a novel concept. I can't believe I was going to school with kids that attended those "other" schools. I met one of my dearest friends in the sixth grade. If I remember correctly(and I suffer from CRS-can't remember sh**) there were no walls dividing the classrooms. Everybody knew everybody's business. We had to dress out for PE in a rock gym built in the 1940's. Pretty much the only thing I took away from there was that gym clothes get really, really stinky. Especially when left in a locker for extended periods of time.
Junior high came and junior high went. I met another of my dearest friends during this time. I played basketball-I'm pretty sure I could have played in the WNBA. New ground was broken with the first male cheerleader. Some liked it, some didn't. It was definitely new. I know I enjoyed this time in my life because I can't remember not liking it.
I loved almost everything about high school. I can't say I enjoyed pep squad very much but it was necessary if you wanted to try out for cheerleader or drill team. And I wanted to DANCE!
So I did. I spent three years on drill team. I'm pretty sure I could've been a Rockette but I guess it just wasn't in the cards. I have many, many great memories from high school but along with that came a period in my life that no teenager should have to suffer through. My mother got sick. The big C. I learned what it means to fight for your life. Man did she fight, with dignity. And that is just how she died. I was a high school senior. I was mad. How could this happen? It happened. I have never felt that much heartache and sorrow. I think this was the first time I understood the quote by Nietzsche, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
Hi. I'm Karin, or Karen. My name was mistakenly written as Karen at the hospital where I was born and it appears as such on my birth certificate. I have been known to travel under the name Lupita. It just seemed like the thing to do, I've spelled it Karin all my life. All 51 and 1/2 years. Some days I feel like 51 and 1/2 and some days I don't. I also go by the name Kizzy. It was during the time "Roots" was on TV. I might have been complaining about having to do lots of cooking, cleaning, or housework in general (who doesn't). My sister-in-law said."We'll just have to start calling you Kizzy." And 30 years later I guess it "stuck." I loved that mini-series.
I have been married for almost 30 years. WOW! It only feels like 30 YEARS! I am the mother of three children. Of course they are children, I did not give birth to aliens....or did I? My oldest is almost 27, middle is 25, and youngest is 22. I live in the town I grew up in as have my my children. My mother was born and raised here. I think it is safe to say we are old timers. When I grew up we rode our bikes all over town, went barefoot, and didn't even worry about locking the doors at night. I have to admit I still run around barefoot sometimes....my feet are a true testament. I've only had one pedicure in my life. I think I have a weird thing about someone else touching my feet. Plus I don't someone pointing and laughing about my feet.
My oldest child has Cerebral Palsy-thank you doctor. This a whole other story....I'll save it for later. My middle child is a fiery redhead, University of Texas grad, and living it up in the city of Austin. My youngest is currently in the Police Academy-looks like we will have a POPO in the family, and my only son.
I am one of 6 children. I'm number 5. I was number 5 until it looked like there would only be 5. Lo and behold along came my youngest brother. I did enjoy that "baby of the family" for about 10 years. I love my brother but I had a pretty good gig going. My little brother made it 3 girls and 3 boys. Sounds fair right? Ummm, NOT SO MUCH!. I was booted from my premiere status to somewhere in the bunch. My two oldest siblings banded together, my two older sisters banded together, brother was the baby and I had to fend for myself. I was a momma's girl and I will certainly take that but going against two older sisters was no easy feat. I once threw 2 handfuls of silverware to the back of my sister.....forks, spoons, knives, for 8 people. She deserved it. Yeah, that's a whole other story for another time.
Life was bliss.....or was it?
