Although I was born in July of 1987, my recollection of youth didn't begin until the spring of 1991 when my baby brother was born and we grew from mommy & daddy +2 to +3 forevermore. I barely noticed the changes around me until my first week of Kindergarten, which was also the week my eye doctor decided it was time for me to start wearing glasses. I couldn't wait to show my new frames off to neighborhood friends that afternoon but my new look was upstaged by the devilishly adorable antics of my baby brother. It was that day I realized I no longer starred as the precious baby girl but had been recast as the middle child.
1992
Obsessions: Barbies, books, having hair in sponge curlers--(trying to channel Belle from Beauty & the Beast)
Wanna-be profession: Getting reassigned as the center of the Universe instead of the middle child.
Confession a.k.a D.O.Y. (Disaster of the Year):
Christmas Card time rolled around and mommy dressed all three of us in matching white dress clothes smocked with christmas trees. My older brother and I worked so hard to perfect our grins and angelic faces but baby brother wouldn't stop crying thus mom suggested we take a break on behalf of the screaming tot. As W, (older brother) sat quietly in the corner and played with legos I scooted right upstairs to sulk in my room. It only took a glance of my favorite book at the time Amber Brown for an idea to garner attention for myself. The next thing I knew I had drawn a round black spot on my dress. It took my guilty conscious about 10 seconds to catch up with my misbehavior and I knew I had to get the spot out (I thought mommy does it all the time) so I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the black dot from my dress (some stain removal). Cue the waterworks and a confession to mommy for accidentally purposely cutting a hole in my dress to get attention--I thought I was back in the game...my little brother is a baby. Regardless of when I was ready to come to terms with my role in our family the middle child and only girl syndrome were one in the same to my parents and my brothers, both involved me and only me along with lots of tears, amusement and emotion.
1997
Obsessions: Girl Power, Hanson Brothers, wearing athletic leisure clothing, new balances & "Gap Socks".
Wanna Be Profession: Dream job would have to do with American Girl Magazine & the icon that is Molly McIntosh.
D.O.Y. (Confession): After recovering from my stage fright incident it was time for the fourth grade to begin. Back-to-school shopping really didn't consist of much other than new tennis shoes and school supplies since I already had several uniforms from previous years. Tennis shoes made a statement since representation through clothing was not an option. The day before school started mommy planned to take us shoe shopping, well to my surprise shoe shopping never happened because my grandmother had purchased a pair of shoes for me while she was out earlier in the day. Luckily, I was down the street when she delivered her thoughtful purchase, because I lost it after realizing she had purchased none other than L.A. Gear Pink Light Up Shoes for me to wear to school. Light ups were cool for like a second in kindergarden but clearly unacceptable in the fourth grade. The light ups were an ongoing joke amongst my peers as I provided instant pink lighting to darkness, mommy finally bought me a pair of stylish nikes after the light ups ruined a surprise party I was attending.
Things were pretty smooth until the summer before seventh grade in 1999.
Obsessions: Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberlands, Flared Jeans, Teen Magazines, 10 things I hate about you, AIM...
D.O.Y. (Confession): hair dresser has breakdown on tween's hair
Our family hairdresser was on maternity leave and recommended me to one of her friends to get my haircut until she returned. I've never had long hair, nor have I ever wanted or had a hairstyle that requires much. The hairdresser, "B*" was so friendly and hip I was excited for her to give me a summer cut before I headed to the beach. Since both of my brothers had gone first my mom left to drop them off at another commitment while "B" cut my hair. Before the butchering began I had shoulder length hair perfect for a 12-13 year old girl. When mommy arrived back at the salon I hadn't seen the final product but could tell something was the matter by the terrified look on her face. I had gone from having Britney Spears hair circa 1999 to having Britney Spears hair post shaved head.... it was basically a bowl-cut. Luckily, butterfly clips and other hair accessories had not been identified by the fashion police just yet, but I was still one tragic looking tween.
*Butcher-for the whack job she did to my hair!
Wanna-be-Profession: Despite my lack of hair, I had grown from a representative on student council, to the vice-president which inspired my dreams of becoming the first female president. I had no concept of time, the future or politics and thought that continuing the efforts of middle school student council was a gateway to a career in successful politics.
this concludes today's edition of early defining delights and disasters...stay tuned for more obsessions, confessions and wanna-be-professions as we tip top into the 2000's later this week!
xoxo- D.D.
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