discovery #25

my childhood scrapbook.

now, this is what a scrapbook SHOULD be...hilarious clippings from the local newspaper, programs from dance recitals, the nametag from your first job, mini putt-putt scorecards....wow, i had totally forgotten about this thing. the photo above is the very first page...dated 10-13-81, i was 4, my cousin 3. i have no recollection of this photo shoot, nor the creepy doll that seems to be bigger than katie. our parents started pimping us out EARLY.  style shows were all the rage in the early 80's and i can't tell you how many times i walked a catwalk at the local country club. (at least most were for a charity event!?!?)

i was in ballet and gymnastics most of my young life...i still remember going to the Peoria YWCA for dance classes. the museum and library were right there, as well as the public pool where i got my first job at 15. you know, when you have to get the letter from your parents saying that you can start working while it's still considered child labor. i can picture the driving range with the mini golf attached, but for the life of me i cannot remember the name.  i am now going to google it to stop from driving myself mad. hold on....

wee tee.  man, how could i forget that?

so that's what today's discovery is about...all the memories that get swept out, replaced by a new shinier model, hiding somewhere in that dimly lit attic of our minds.  as i begin writing more and more, i am drawn to the old stories...the ones i've told a million times. the ones that shaped my childhood, made me who i am. "hell no, we won't go"...the sit-in's at my grandma and cousins' houses...our group effort to avoid our individual homes and win the sleep over (with smidgets for breakfast!)

the bradley university chili supper...the autographs of all the players (and then hersey hawkins becoming famous later!!!) getting up at the crack of dawn to go to swim practice at willow...the freezing cold temps before the sun rose, cursing my dad through the first few laps for waking me up. there are dozens of newspaper clippings with my times for every swim meet i ever attended. and apparently i broke two records (for the 25 and 50 yd. freestyle) for 7 year old girls at the central illinois swim meet.   oooooh.

sorry if this is boring you to tears, but i feel like i've just uncovered buried treasure.  like one of those time capsules you're allowed to dig up after 20 or so years. apparently i received an award for my economics poster in 1990, and went to a reception/ceremony.  i was 13...how can i not even remember this?  i also played "ivory" in our adaptation of an old-fashioned soap opera...but this i DO remember.  (our costumes involved fringe....awesome.)

okay, i actually taped "my first fake ID" in this scrapbook.  there are so many things wrong with this, i cannot even elaborate right now.  (and if you haven't noticed, i am actually flipping through my book as i type)  ohmygod, and the certificate stating that i was an official member of eagle flight, when my neighbor let me fly his plane in 1992!  okay, i spent the rest of the time flipping through my undergrad stuff and had some blast-from-the-past-type moments with friends i have totally lost touch with.

so, in the end, it is simply a book of memories. or reminders. reminding me of how much i've forgotten.  what's that bit in "when harry met sally" at the very end when he's trying to decipher auld lang syne ? okay, i've totally lost my focus.