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The day I learned to spell my own name was also the day I received my very first blue jeans. They weren't actually denim, but permapress polyester in denim blue, with little yellow, blue, and pink flowers embroidered on the pocket flaps. I also had a "jean jacket" to match. I was about two years old, and just leaving the Kmart with my new wardrobe.
I'm not sure when I learned how to read, but I was doing rudimentary reading by about two years of age. Driving away from the Kmart, Mom and Dad spelled out my name to me, and I repeated it back to them. I think it helps that my name makes phonetic sense, because I could easily sound it out.
At the age of two, I also knew my numbers, could recite all the books of the Bible in order, had a job (my chore was to collect eggs from the chicken coop), and picked out the right sized clothing patterns. "Mommy, make me this!" I exclaimed, handing a pattern for an ass-revealing jumper (frilly panties showed out the back) and a hat with a hole in the top for a saucy ponytail.
"It's not your size," she answered.
"Yes, it is. See? It's size 2!"
And sure enough, it was. Mom made me the outfit, too. The hat was blue, to match my jeans.
Little did I know that fifteen to twenty years later, I'd still be wearing a size two.
By the time I started grade one, I read picture books and could count to one hundred. When I got to school, I remember being astonished at how most of the kids couldn't even count to five, let alone write their own names. Shamefully, parents were discouraged by the school system from teaching their children anything. My parents thought this recommendation was a load of hooey, and insisted on teaching both my sister and me how to read, count, tie our shoelaces, and other useful things. Most of the kids in my class couldn't tie their own shoelaces, or tell you what time it was.
Yesterday, while modelling, I noticed a girl in the art class wearing a shirt very similar to my very first jean jacket. The embroidered flowers seemed the same, and instead of denim, the shirt looked like it was made of permapress polyester. I wondered what she learned the day she got that shirt, and hoped it was as important as what I'd learned with my blue jeans.
I'm not sure when I learned how to read, but I was doing rudimentary reading by about two years of age. Driving away from the Kmart, Mom and Dad spelled out my name to me, and I repeated it back to them. I think it helps that my name makes phonetic sense, because I could easily sound it out.
At the age of two, I also knew my numbers, could recite all the books of the Bible in order, had a job (my chore was to collect eggs from the chicken coop), and picked out the right sized clothing patterns. "Mommy, make me this!" I exclaimed, handing a pattern for an ass-revealing jumper (frilly panties showed out the back) and a hat with a hole in the top for a saucy ponytail.
"It's not your size," she answered.
"Yes, it is. See? It's size 2!"
And sure enough, it was. Mom made me the outfit, too. The hat was blue, to match my jeans.
Little did I know that fifteen to twenty years later, I'd still be wearing a size two.
By the time I started grade one, I read picture books and could count to one hundred. When I got to school, I remember being astonished at how most of the kids couldn't even count to five, let alone write their own names. Shamefully, parents were discouraged by the school system from teaching their children anything. My parents thought this recommendation was a load of hooey, and insisted on teaching both my sister and me how to read, count, tie our shoelaces, and other useful things. Most of the kids in my class couldn't tie their own shoelaces, or tell you what time it was.
Yesterday, while modelling, I noticed a girl in the art class wearing a shirt very similar to my very first jean jacket. The embroidered flowers seemed the same, and instead of denim, the shirt looked like it was made of permapress polyester. I wondered what she learned the day she got that shirt, and hoped it was as important as what I'd learned with my blue jeans.
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Ya, me too.
Date: 2003-02-21 11:50 am (UTC)From:Sesame Street, bible studies, comics, Dr. Seuss, and a keen interest in dinosaurs and space 'll do that to ya. ;^)