A brief history

In light of recent events*, i have decided to write a slightly longer blog entry. Whether or not this actually turns out longer doesn't matter. What DOES matter is that i'm deciding. Okay.
On most nights, i can't fall asleep right away. I try my ipod, putting the classical music station on softly, counting sheep**, and countless others. I'm not really an insomniac, it just takes me a while to unwind. Anyway, one of the most recent techniques i've had is to think back to a time in my memory and then just go back from there. I've made it to a Pre-school class so far. That's the farthest back i can actually REMEMBER. Oh, and that's another thing. Remembering what people tell me doesn't count, nor does remembering pictures.

PRE-SCHOOL- I carpooled with Erica. I remember looking at my socks one day and saying that they looked like Molly's socks, referring, of course, to Molly McIntyre, the American Girl Doll. They actually really didn't. I also remember my mom's teaching job at a school and getting her smelly markers at the end of the year.
PRE-K- i went to a Catholic Pre-school and pre-k***. At the pre-k, i remember be called back to a little room off of the main classroom. {the reason, i think was to evaluate whether or not we were ready for kindergarten} The teacher showed me a picture of a jesus-fish. I have no idea what that symbolizes. But i went to kindergarten the next year, so it all worked out.
THE SUMMER before kindergarten- I spent almost the whole summer watching my brother play t-ball with my new best friend, Vicky. We wrote stories in blank bound notebooks. I would write the stories, and Vicky would illustrate. I was notorious for starting grandly and then not filling in the rest of the book. We had five or six books, but only two complete stories. I also remember the day before we actually went to kindergarten, going to the school with our parents. Mrs. Y told our parents that in this year we would learn the alphabet and letters in our name. Vicky and i laughed very loudly, because WE had already written novels.
KINDERGARTEN- I was best friends with Amy and every day, when the rest of the kids would leave for the buses, we would sneak back to the sink where they kept the snacks and take extra cookies. I'm not even kidding. ALWAYS. We never got caught.
SECOND GRADE- Stephanie was my best friend. We hung out at recess and both had to stay after school until our parents picked us up. She was always angry that Alex called her "Stepho the magical elf". We were best friends with Nathaniel and the janitor, Piper****. The favorite book was "The Lunchbox". Taylor was also my friend because we read James and the Giant Peach in the advanced reading group and both loved puns. I also remember a week where i pretended i was mad at her. I don't know why.
THIRD GRADE- I lost the end-of-the-year talent show. That's all i REALLY vividly remember about this year.
FOURTH GRADE- I remember going over my best friend Mikaela's house. I didn't know the correct rules to Scattergories, because Amy and i had been playing by the wrong rules our whole lives. We walked her little brother Elijah around the apartments and choreographed dances. Then, we sat on her bed and sang songs from Cats. This is also the year that, at afterschool Katie, Stephanie, Nikki and i concocted a large-scale, seriously elaborate story. It centered around three siblings constantly getting kidnapped. We also had another game about three triplets and their mom. My favorite musical this year was Cats.
FIFTH GRADE- One of the best memories from this year was when Mrs. Morris (resource room teacher) told us to do something long and complicated and i responded "that's wasting time that we don't have". She told me that was "Scary, Maddi". For some twisted reason, i was really proud of that. At the end of the year, i got the award for "Renaissance Woman". Which made me very happy. It IS a good award. Nikki, Steph and i would always come over my house after school, because aftercare at the school had been taken over by weirdos. I remember one day thinking i saw something in the trees. We decided we needed to have an escape plan and fire drill. We practiced using bamboo poles to escape into my basement unseen. This is also the year that my team ALMOST won Academic Challenge.

Well, there on is pretty boring, and far too lucid to be interesting at all. Thanks for reading Maddi's Early Years. Come back next time when we discuss something of interest to ALL! ;o


*My oboe lesson was canceled
**no joke.
***about that: i also remember telling people that they made me wear a uniform there. They really didn't, but i was quite a cunning child and knew that among the most popular public-school-kid things to have were 1)braces 2)recess drama and 3)a past at a different school. Uniforms fit under 2 and 3. Plus, i honestly did think they were awesome. Thus began a lifelong love of plaid.
****Thus began a lifelong love of janitors