A senior what?

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When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to be an adult. I’d be free to do anything I wanted. My life would be perfect.

I’d have a car to go anywhere I desired. There would be no more asking permission, and no more curfews. I’d take trips to the beach on the weekend, or perhaps the mountains.

I’d own a fancy condo or apartment that I could decorate any way I wanted. After all, I’d be making money.

Thirty plus years later, and several months before my fiftieth birthday, I’ve experienced every thing that I wished for. In addition to mortgage payments, bills, health issues, house and car repairs. All of those things that come with adulthood, but no one ever told us about.

After a recent trip to the grocery store, I was recording my transaction into my check register.  I glanced toward the bottom of the receipt to get the total, and there it was…SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but since I was wearing my bifocals, I knew it was true. The young cashier gave me a senior discount.

Derek said she probably gave me the discount because I was nice to her.

Hum, I wonder…

When you were a teenager, were you anxious to become an adult?

CELEBRATE!

WELCOME SPRING!

March 20, 6:45 P.M. EDT

What took you so long?

What’s your favorite season?

A Child’s Plea

Image Courtesy of morguefile.com

Dear Mom,

I feel so much better today my throat doesn’t hurt and when I cough it is not crupy anymore, aren’t you glad! I know you will say no but can I go out in the snow please! Let me cough for you and show you it isn’t crupy! Please!

Love, Your Better Kid Jill

P.S. This will probably be the only good snow we have all year!

P.S. I Love You!! Xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

During my parent’s recent move, I found this note. I wrote it when I was eleven years old. Aside from misspelling the word ‘croupy’ and the use of exclamation points, rather than question marks, I think I stated my case rather well.

Discovering this faded note brought a smile to my face. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get a very good photo.

Have you ever discovered something from your past that triggered a flood of memories?

Silly Wabbit

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When I was a child, I was very shy. I had friends, but I was much better one on one, than in a group situation. “Jill gets along well with others, but she’s very quiet and shy.” This was a comment written on my report card by my first grade teacher.

I think one reason why I was so quiet was because I had a speech impediment. It wasn’t anything major, but to a little girl trying to fit in, it made me very self-conscious.

My problem was with the letter R. I just couldn’t say it. Rabbit was wabbit. Roll was woll. I remember one day, I was playing outside with my sister and her friends, we were having so much fun. The fun was spoiled when my sister’s friend asked, “Jill, where do we go to get ice cream?” I replied, “At the cor-nor.” They all laughed because I couldn’t say “corner.” I ran home and cried, and wished I could talk normal.

At some point during the first grade, my parents and my teacher decided I needed speech therapy. I recall the giggles from my classmates when the therapist came into the room to take me to my session. “She has to learn to talk,” was whispered by one boy, but loud enough for me to hear.

I don’t remember a lot about the sessions, but I do remember one speech exercise in particular. I put my tongue in the middle of the roof of my mouth and rolled it, to make the rrrrrrrrrr sound over and over. I also read flash cards with words containing the letter R.

In time, I learned to pronounce words with the letter R just like everyone else. The teasing stopped, but my shyness remained.

Did something make you self-conscious as a child?