For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Those Awkward School Pictures!


School pictures.

Back in my day there was no "retouching" option.

Back in my day, it meant sleeping in pin curls and my bangs taped to my forehead the night before. 

Back in my day ...

Ok, it's kind of embarrassing, but I'll show you a few of my school pictures.

First grade was the only school picture I really liked.


This was one of my favorite dresses.
My bangs weren't looking great - but then again I have always been challenged with my hair.

I have a very high forehead with a widow's peak.
My mom used to call it a "heart shaped face".
My hair is really fine and really straight and there were no curling irons back then.
Hence, the pin curls and tape.

This photo was either 2nd or 3rd grade.
The pin curls didn't work out well this year!

But my bangs were a little longer.
The slight curve at the bottom of the bangs was achieved by taping my damp bangs to my forehead
before I went to bed (with scotch tape!) so they would dry that way as I slept.

I used to like this dress with the red bow and peter pan collar.
My huge honker front teeth had come in - but they came in yellow instead of white!
Why does that happen that way?
All in all, this picture wasn't that bad.

When I saw this picture, I knew I had sunk to an all time low.
My mother should have stopped trying to make my hair curl every year!
This year it looked frizzy!
The side part was not flattering either!
Neither was the space in between my two front teeth
   or the "snaggle tooth" sticking out on one side!
I hated the "jumper" and red shirt.
Fourth grade was just NOT a good year for school pictures!

Fifth Grade.  Or maybe 6th.
I felt I made a come-back compared to the disaster of 4th grade.
I had grown out my bangs.
We should have given up on the curls too!
We had moved on from pin curls to hard, pink plastic rollers that I had to try to sleep in.
This plaid dress with the Nehru collar was "in" at the time and I loved it.
Little did I know that by next year puberty would have hit
            and gone would be the flawless skin of youth!


I think this was 7th grade.
My face was probably covered in clearsil.
It was ALWAYS shiny too!
But the curls are gone!
My "snaggle tooth" is still there - I never did get braces!

I didn't like this picture either.


I had thought 4th grade would be my all-time least favorite
school picture, but I was wrong.
It was 8th grade.

The center part was popular - but didn't do anything for me!
My complexion was not good.
My hair was so oily I had to wash it twice a day sometimes!
My teeth were dingy yellow - I didn't whiten them until I was 40 years old!
My purple striped sweater was very hip, I thought.
I think I wore it with my purple skirt.
I'd like to believe I really didn't look like this.
But I probably did.


I don't have any school pictures from high school.
Thank God!

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