Rat-tails are Gross...Mommy's Piggy Tales #7

Age 10 or 5th Grade

Big news in 5th grade: I liked a boy!! I’m sure there were a few here & there that I was maybe interested in before now, but this is the first year that I remember having a major crush!! This is the year I remember my hormones going CRAZY! The object of my affection was named Alex & just to show you how redneck the city I grew up in was, I must point out that he had a rat-tail. Remember those? That one long little clump of hair that grew out & down their back while the rest of their head was shaved or had a fabulous 80’s flat-top? I mean, really, who ever started the rat-tail craze because it’s embarrassing to look back on. Gross. We also played four-square at recess like it was nobody’s business & I wore biker shorts under cut-off jean shorts & thought I was really awesome. Ah the 80’s/90’s style crazes.

Also in 5th grade, I had my tonsils removed. I remember eating soup & popsicles for days. I remember throwing up blood & I remember swallowing scabs. (Sorry for the visuals, people, but those are the things I remember.) I also remember my doctor asking me right before I went under if I was the kid who wanted to see my tonsils after they were removed...um NO.

My best friends were named Brianna, Janie & Laura. I remember watching the movie Cry-Baby with them at slumber parties (oh Johnny Depp...I was a big fan even then) & listening to Janet Jackson all the time. I remember my friend Brianna’s older sister was also obsessed with Tori Amos & Silverchair. She had posters of both in her room & I thought Tori Amos was weird.

I was a member of the Academic Team at school & we won the state competition! It was really fun!! At the regional meet, I even got the winning answer right by spelling pneumonia. I felt pretty cool. That was the peak of my nerdiness in terms of school, though, because in 6th grade I was sent to private school & everything changed...

Mommy’s Piggy Tales

My previous Mommy’s Piggy Tales posts