SHY BOY AND BABY BOOMER

I was always envious of my friends who had a large family.  I thought how much fun it must be to have a sister to talk to and play with.  Hand me down clothes was a big thing in my day and I was jealous of my friends who had big sisters who would give them their clothes when they outgrew them.  That sounds a little off the wall now.  Who would want hand me down clothes to begin with?   But, I guess it was the fact that I was lonely at home without a sibling. 

Living with Uncle Aubrey and not having any privacy with me sharing their bedroom must have presented some challenging moments for Momma and Daddy.  But they managed to present us with a “baby boomer” brother for me.  Of course, this event forced the evacuation of our living quarters at Uncle Aubrey’s to a brand new rental house which gave me a bedroom of my own at the age of 15.   I had some girl friends whose parents had also given birth to some “baby boomers” at that time, and some of them were not nearly so excited about their new siblings.  But let me tell you, I’ve never been so happy in my life.  That little baby boy was the most beautiful baby in the world and I took over his care as if he were my own.  He was then, and is now, a special part of my life.

Life was good.  High school was awesome.  Shy Boy was still the love of my life.  He was a handsome football player.  I was still an ugly fat girl wondering what he saw in me but happy he did.  To be a cheerleader was the ultimate goal of most high school girls in my circle of friends, especially if your boy friend played football.   It took four years of trying out before I finally got chosen.  I guess the judges felt sorry for me.   But I got myself a cheerleader sweater and skirt before I graduated high school!

Mr. Glenn, the principal, was everybody’s watchdog.  He knew your parents and you knew he knew them.  One day he called me into his office.  I was shaking and embarrassed at having been summoned, knowing it couldn’t be a good thing.  He told me that he had seen Shy Boy and me at lunch time out under the pine trees holding hands and he knew that my parents would be gravely disappointed if they knew we were engaging in such behavior.  I promised that it wouldn’t happen again.  And it didn’t.  At least not at school.  I would never do anything that would embarrass me parents or hurt them in any way.  I’m kind of quirky that way.  Oh well.   I never even played hooky for crying out loud!