So, we moved to Paw Paw.
The real funny part was we had only just moved our stuff in and set up our rooms right before my mom and Bill's wedding, so our actual first week and weekend in our new, exceptionally creepy house was with a 'baby sitter' we'd only just met. In fact, I can't even remember her name, but apparently we met her (and by 'met' I mean 'saw and understood existed') at the wedding reception. So, yeah: weird lady, weird house, weird week. I don't remember much else since we didn't know anyone in Paw Paw and therefor didn't have any friends over. It was rough, but that's about all I can recall.
Fast forward a bit to a week or so later. We were settled in to our new house, though I know that the three of us kids weren't especially happy about it. And then came the big blow. Even though I was 15, I was deemed not ready to stay at home and watch my brother and sister while my mom and Bill worked. So, instead of just letting me stay at home, all three of us were forced to stay at a Day Care. Oh man was that about the most emasculating and horrific thing ever at the time. It was literally like a day camp for little kids who were all younger than even my brother, who was 13 at the time. The two of us would sit there and grouse for hours on end, dreading the day and hating the fact that we were made to stay there like some kind of trapped, elderly dogs in a kennel full of puppies. We rarely participated in anything they offered, which included things like crafts and eating with a spoon. And a few weeks went buy like this until we finally won the war and my mom let the two of us stay home. My sister liked it, as she was only 9, and content to hang out with kids her age and have fun. Eventually we became far happier during that summer and were even allowed to have friends from Kalamazoo over to hang out with.
And then High School started.
I'm sure many of you have had to switch schools before somewhere in your childhood (heck, my wife and I have had to do it with our own kids once), so you know what it's like. New town, kids you've never met, a weird building you've only seen driving past, teachers who haven't heard of you from your life at the previous school... just an agonizing event all in all. Oddly, there were two people at the school in my grade who I did know from Portage who had moved a year or so before, so they helped a bit in meeting people, but it was definitely a trying time doing all I could to find a friend I could latch on to. And looking the way I did (an afro-headed goof with poor taste in clothing) mad it all the more difficult. But, there were a few kids who did find me interesting. One of which I met in a math class, and the other in a biology class.
Stick around, because next time you'll meet my two best friends from High School: Kevin Ray and Rusty Weekley.
The real funny part was we had only just moved our stuff in and set up our rooms right before my mom and Bill's wedding, so our actual first week and weekend in our new, exceptionally creepy house was with a 'baby sitter' we'd only just met. In fact, I can't even remember her name, but apparently we met her (and by 'met' I mean 'saw and understood existed') at the wedding reception. So, yeah: weird lady, weird house, weird week. I don't remember much else since we didn't know anyone in Paw Paw and therefor didn't have any friends over. It was rough, but that's about all I can recall.
Fast forward a bit to a week or so later. We were settled in to our new house, though I know that the three of us kids weren't especially happy about it. And then came the big blow. Even though I was 15, I was deemed not ready to stay at home and watch my brother and sister while my mom and Bill worked. So, instead of just letting me stay at home, all three of us were forced to stay at a Day Care. Oh man was that about the most emasculating and horrific thing ever at the time. It was literally like a day camp for little kids who were all younger than even my brother, who was 13 at the time. The two of us would sit there and grouse for hours on end, dreading the day and hating the fact that we were made to stay there like some kind of trapped, elderly dogs in a kennel full of puppies. We rarely participated in anything they offered, which included things like crafts and eating with a spoon. And a few weeks went buy like this until we finally won the war and my mom let the two of us stay home. My sister liked it, as she was only 9, and content to hang out with kids her age and have fun. Eventually we became far happier during that summer and were even allowed to have friends from Kalamazoo over to hang out with.
And then High School started.
I'm sure many of you have had to switch schools before somewhere in your childhood (heck, my wife and I have had to do it with our own kids once), so you know what it's like. New town, kids you've never met, a weird building you've only seen driving past, teachers who haven't heard of you from your life at the previous school... just an agonizing event all in all. Oddly, there were two people at the school in my grade who I did know from Portage who had moved a year or so before, so they helped a bit in meeting people, but it was definitely a trying time doing all I could to find a friend I could latch on to. And looking the way I did (an afro-headed goof with poor taste in clothing) mad it all the more difficult. But, there were a few kids who did find me interesting. One of which I met in a math class, and the other in a biology class.
Stick around, because next time you'll meet my two best friends from High School: Kevin Ray and Rusty Weekley.
No comments:
Post a Comment