I love this one she is just being so sassy!

Learning to drive

HA so anyone who knows this story has probably been wondering when I was going to post it...LOL! Summers in Chicago are notoriously terrible, hot, humid, and basically unlivable. Of course the house we were renting at the time did not have a/c and my parents were on the downward spiral of their marriage. On a Saturday afternoon as all 5 kids and 2 parents who are not talking to each other are sitting in a terribly hot house in the middle of July I decide this would be the perfect opportunity to have my Mom or Dad teach me to drive. At the time I was about 2 weeks away from turning 15 but had already signed up for my driver's ed class in the fall. I started by simply asking my Mom to teach me to drive and she said no. I ask again and again and again and again until I am BEGGING her to teach me to drive. Needless to say the heat and humidity had made her brain turn to mush. Plus the fact that this would be an opportunity to get into an air conditioned car and away from my Father...she relents. My sister Chrissy jumps at the chance to get out of the house and decides to come along. Now my Mother had "rules". I could not drive on streets since this was just to learn, so she drives us over to the nearby park which has an empty parking lot. Now we had taken my Dad's car because my Mom's car was in the shop at the time. We go to this parking lot which, by the way, did I mention is the parking lot for the Brookfield Police Station...???? Yes that's right my Mom decided that the place I should learn to drive is at the police station. We park in front of the police station and I am giddy with excitement. I get into the driver’s seat and my Mom tells me about the gears, the brake and the gas. And then very emphatically she tells me we are going to go around the building one time and then go home. I should not even bother to ask for anything more than that...yes yes yes I nod in agreement. I begin to go forward then I turn right to the side of the building then I turn right to the back of the building and my Mom suddenly realizes where we are and what we are doing. She looks around and sees policemen coming and going and you can see on her face that she realizes her mistake. So she says to me "stop the car" and of course I am thinking NO WAY I AM FREAKIN DRIVING!!! So I say "Mom just let me finish. You said one time." But she is really freaking out. So I make the next right and am on the other side of the building...we are almost done! But my Mom can't stand it anymore so she is telling me to stop, stop the car, stop right now, stop!!!! I am like no way! Suddenly she grabs the steering wheel and turns it towards her, which in turn moves me, so I try to brake but my feet have moved and I hit the gas and the car goes CRASH up the curb and into the police station building. The car is totaled and smoking and crunched! Now oddly enough at that exact moment there is a malfunction in the computer system at the Police station and every burglar alarm in the city starts going off. Now we have police men running out of the building, walkie talkies buzzing, sirens blaring and us trying to very quietly figure out how to get our car the heck out of dodge. My sister and I have picked up the front bumper that fell off and are trying to fit it into the back seat, although the front tire has popped and the engine is smoking. And of course the police have now noticed us and so have the people at the park who are coming over in droves to gawk at us. A policeman comes over to ask us what happened and my Mother being honest Abe tells them the whole story. We are ushered into the building and told to call my Dad. Since my mother and father were already on bad terms my Dad thought she was lying to him to get him all riled up. After much convincing he was forced to call his brother and figure out how to help us. My mother was given a ticket for letting a minor drive. I was given 2 tickets, one for driving without a license and another for hitting an immobile object. An immobile object...now if that building had only been mobile it could have jumped out of my way!

Much needed vacation

Hannah and I in Puerto Vallarta.

8th grade graduation

I went to St. Barbara's for 8th grade and our 8th grade graduation was a big deal. We wore caps and gowns and got diploma's handed to us by the Bishop! Our school colors were brown and gold (hideous I know!), but needless to day the gowns were brown with gold tassels for the caps. Now by 8th grade I was old enough to know that things were not going well for my parents. We had moved into a rental house in Brookfield and we all knew that money troubles and other grown-up issues were troubling my parents. So a week before my graduation my Mom pulled my aside and told me that she had spoken to the principle at my school and even though my parents had not been able to come up with the tuition the school had agreed that withhold my diploma would be an unnecessary. However, my Mom did want me to know that she had handled the situation and that all was OK. So the morning of my graduation I got up and dressed in my pretty new dress and shoes, curled my hair and put on a little make-up. I then walked over to my friend Stacy's house so we could go to the school together for the line-up. I got into line, chattering excitedly with my friends in line, and was promptly pulled aside by the Principle. She informed me that there had been a new development in my parents tuition problem and that I was not going to get my diploma until they had paid the tuition in full. My eyes grew huge and started watering, my mouth dropped open I didn't know what to say. I told her that my Mom had told me I would get a diploma and she said things had changed and she wanted me to know so I was not shocked when I received an empty diploma holder form the Bishop. I was devastated. I started crying. Meanwhile my parents were busy getting the rest of the gang ready, buying flowers and balloon. My younger brother Peter insisted on carrying the balloon to the school, he was probably about 5 at the time, and of course he let go of the balloon on the way to the school. When I walked into the church for the ceremony I was crying so hard I could not even see straight. My Mom took one look at me and she just knew what had happened. She ran over to the principle to confront her but she refused to even talk to my Mother. Sure enough when they called my name I walked up to the Bishop and he smiled awkwardly at me and handed me an empty diploma holder. I started crying all over again. When the ceremony was over I met my family outside and of course started yelling at my Mom and Dad for ruining my life!!! I was horrified and embarrassed. Turns out my Dad had spoken to the principle and it was during that conversation that she had decided that the best way to revenge herself was to withhold my diploma. I don't know what was said by whom about what but my parents paid the outstanding bill and my diploma was sent to me 6 weeks later.

In 7th grade I became painfully aware of how "hairy" my legs were. On the bus there was this really mean kid (who, by the way, had Spock eyebrows) who always called me spider legs! I was devastated but every time I talked to my Mom about she said I was too young to shave my legs. Luckily for me at this time we lived with Grandma and my Aunt Linda who was a Senior in High School at the time and the epitome of rebellious pulled me aside one day and said "Look your Mom does not take a shower with you so if you want to shave your legs go ahead and do it!" Well that was all I needed I ran upstairs that minute jumped into the shower and began to literally HACK away the hair...unfortunately I must have grabbed an exceptionally dull razor because when I had finished I looked like I needed an ER. I did not even tell my Mom what I had done...but of course the bloody towel was a dead give away. I could tell she was mad but as the saying goes "It's easier to ask for forgiveness then permission!!!"

On becoming a woman

The first time I got my period I was sleeping over at a friends house. It was Mother's day weekend, I was 12. I woke up at my friends house went to the bathroom and was totally confused! I did not say anything to my friend and went home for Church and Mother's day activities. At the time we lived with my Grandmother...so that means my Mom and Dad, the 5 kids, my Aunt Helen (my grandmothers sister), my Grandparents (my Grandfather was sick with Huntington's Korea disease) my Uncle Johnny and my Aunt Linda...we all lived under the same roof! So imagine the chaos of a Sunday morning as everyone is fighting for bathroom time, a spot at the table to eat, and getting everyone out the door in time for Mass...can you say HECTIC! I try to pull my Mom aside privately and tell her what is going on...as if there is any privacy in a house FULL of people! I settle for a moment at the top of the stairs near the bathroom. I tell her what I suspect is occurring hoping beyond hope that she is going to hug me and take me into the bathroom and show me what the hell to do! Oddly enough my Mother stares and me and says "What do you want me to do? There is a box of pads under the sink". Devastated! I go into the bathroom and pull out what looks like a diaper and I think NO WAY! Then I get an idea...maybe I am wrong...maybe I am not menstruating!! Off I go with the family to church. When we return 2 hours later I go into the bathroom and sure enough things are happening. So I corner my mother again and say "Mom I am ruining my underwear can you PLEASE help me?" and she gapes at me and looks at me like I'm an idiot...she says "I can't buy you any new underwear so you'd better figure it out!". ACK!!!!
Well of course I did figure it out and then insisted on walking home everyday for lunch so I could use the facilities and not have to bring any of that "stuff" to school. In June my aunt flow did not appear and I was SOOOO relieved thinking it was all a mistake...it was back in July *sigh*.

Jupiter

When I was in abut 5th grade we were assigned to write up a paper about a planet and produce a model of the planet. I wrote up my paper on Jupiter and started bugging my mother about producing a Jupiter model. Being as we lived with her Mom at the time and she had her hands full with the 4 other children she put it off and put it off even though I kept nagging her. I told her I had it all planned out...we'd get one of those punching balloons..the really BIG ones and put paper machie all over it then I could paint it the colors of Jupiter. Well needless to say my big project did not occur until the NIGHT before the project was due and I was stressing out! e paper machied the balloon and it was taking forever to dry...but I knew I needed to paint it! So even though my mother kept telling me to wait and wait and wait I couldn't stand it any longer! I took out the paints and started in on the balloon. Well in the midst of my genius plan I had it in my head that I needed to POP the balloon...and when I did Jupiter looked like it had been hit by a meteor! I was devastated! I reluctantly continued to paint Jupiter..but I was mortified that my planet was moshed. The next day when it was my turn to present Jupiter the teacher was very kind and we all took turns guessing what catastrophe had occurred to the poor planet. Lesson learned all ways listen to your mother!