What a crummy day but, look what I found!

I'll spare you the details, but today was not so great. It started with my cell phone having gone missing (I have no land line) Turns out kid "picked it up off the floor (why was it there?) put it in his pocket, then went to school" Could I call the school to find out if he has it? NOoooooo, because THEN, if he DID, he would get detention. ....day didn't get much better after that, until:

While cleaning and sorting boxes in my basement (another fun part of my day!), I found the autobiography I wrote when in sixth grade (age 12). No, it ws not for entertainment, although I did write plays and cartoons; it was for an assignment.

"...At 6:34, after waiting for Dad and the doctor, I made my
appearance. Headlines, "Stacey [R] meets the world."

"There's not much to tell about the next few months unless you
call moving from the bassinet to the crib exciting.

"I have always loved animals and music. When I was
eighteen months old, I liked to sit on our manx cat, Screwball, and
hold his ears back until the cat howled. When he howled, I would sing
with him. You must not think that sitting on a cat is very good, and it's
not, but this is a very large cat.

"I had a big collection of instruments. Mom's pots and
pans, a baby piano, and a a xylophone, but I played the cat
best."

It is so funny to read your 12-year-old perspective (from 26 years ago!) Here is more:

"One of my favorite places to go was the zoo. My first time at the zoo was
at age eighteen months. I went with my mom and my mom's friend, the
photographer. I kept running around and they were trying to catch
me. I ran around so much that they threatened to put me in the monkey
house."

And some more:

"Now, I belong to Hollin Meadows. Kindergargen was fun.
Sometimes we would have parties and the teacher would bring her daughter to
them. Once we got to fingerpaint with chocolate pudding. I think
that the kids were eating more of the pudding than they than they were painting
with."

Please understand that I am typing EXACTLY what I had written; now, I know better than to end a sentence with a preposition!

"My first operation happened when I was ten years old in the summer
(luckily). I had an appendectomy. I thought it was just a stomach
ache. Mom went to New Jersey for a boat race and left me and [H] with a
friend. The next day, I was walking around bent half way over not eating
anything. Finally, the friend called the hospital and told the doctor
everything. Then he (the friend) took me to the hospital to be x-rayed and
pushed on. I wasn't allowed to have a drink of water because my appendix
broke. The friend called my father and mother. I had the operation
that day. After the operation, when I woke up everything was blury.
They [took] me to a room in the children's ward, where I spent seven days
hurting, calling people, watching TV, reading, and going to the bathroom."

Wow, clearly, my lack of self-edit goes WAY back!

"I get to start my career at acting. In fifth grade we had a program
near Halloween. There was a poem with an old lady and a cat in it. I
got to act out the old lady. I wanted to use my pet cat for the part in
the play, but Mom wouldn't let me. I only had to say about four
words."

Please keep in mind that I just found this book after it's being in some box for well over eight years! So, it is a little bizarre to read:

"For my future, I want to become a very successful veternarian, model, actress,
or singer. I want to have one child and a puppy. I'd like to live in
a townhouse in a very nice neighborhood with good friends."

Aside from the career specifics an "very nice" neighborhood (which depends on your perspective; I am picky, but the neighborhood is improving), it sounds like I am on track! Notice how, even back then, 'husband' wasn't a part of my vision of my adult life!

Let this be a lesson: if you have a dream (specifically singer, in my case) don't let anyone derail you. Now, I am working on the acting aspect of my 12-year-old self's career dream. And maybe all of those years of voice lessons will pay off.

To my friends: thank you for being my "good friends"; truly a dream that did come true. :)

I'll scan some of the photos, later, then add them. Right now, I need today to END...goodnight!