The perils of being the eldest child
Tammy had a post the other day about her earliest childhood memories... and one of her memories was looking at her kindergarten pictures - yep, that's her above, in the "smart plaid blazer" (to steal a quote from my funny friend Kristi) and wondering who that little boy was.
Which lead to our discussion today on what would have made our mom cut a little girls hair so short that it would make people question the child's gender. Tammy, with a hint of resentment in her voice, came to the conclusion that our mom was so busy with Gina and I that she, in turn, became the neglected child, and was forced to sacrifice her own looks for the ease of the family's daily routine.
Perhaps she is right.
By the time I got to school, she obviously had a bit more free time to give me a stylish, feathered hair-do; and she had time to teach me to smile (sorta).
And then there's Gina. Well, being the baby of the family, she still has most of her childhood belongings, including her school photos, where you would imagine the baby of the family to have those things.... back at our dad's house in storage (much to his dismay). But imagine a school picture that looked like this: a cute little girl, with long curly locked hair, neatly pulled into cute little ponytails with perfectly tied ribbons..... something very similar to this....
Hmmm....seems there had been loads of time to primp the youngest child ....
Perhaps Tammy has suffered as the eldest of 3 girls. Perhaps being stuck in the middle is not such a bad place for me to have been.
And for that... I say Thank you Tammy. For all you have given up in sacrifice for your sisters, thank you!
(Ok, I really only did this post as a way to share that photo of Tammy with my network of blog subscribers)
posted by jilldaisbrenne @ 9:44 PM
6 Comments:
I love it! You girls are all adorable.
Jill you need to tell your story about the skipping contest. I can't even think about it without laughing out loud!!!
OK Jill, I can relate to Tammy having the short hair. You remember my hair when we were younger. If the reason for Tammy having short hair was "our mom was so busy with Gina and I that she, in turn, became the neglected child, and was forced to sacrifice her own looks for the ease of the family's daily routine", what was the reason for mine since I was the youngest and THE only girl? Did my mom want Nikki and I to look alike? Please tell me oh dear Dais girls?
Hey...my hair was chopped off by the time I went to 1st Grade! I think mom was tired of detangling the hair brushes from my hair!
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for acknowledging the suffering and sacrifice that I have had to endure throughout my childhood.
By the way, I think you should share the "skipping contest" story with us all. (Thanks for bringing it up, Kristi!)
Please tell the skipping contest story! I've been laughing all afternoon because I can't stop thinking about it. We were walking through JCPenneys this afternoon and I laughed out loud because it popped into my head. It's one of my favorites!
As the youngest child I can tell you that there was no primpin' going on in my house. My Dad took a stab at cutting my sisters hair once. I can beat you with my second grade picture. There is snot running down my nose!
p.s. Nice pic Tammy! :)
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