Friday, February 19, 2010

Scraggly Little Chels...

The dang coolest person in the world (my awesome friend Michelle) wrote an embarrassing story from her past on her blog and I decided I would do the same. Her story happened to her in 6th grade, and one of my most memorable moments (which seemed like the end-of-the-world at the time) was in 6th grade as well.

Let me just give you a little visual...I don't think I can post a 6th grade picture of me. I just don't want that out there for the world to see. I was scraggly. And I don't mean a little bit. For those of you who have only known me over the last 5-10 years, you don't know much about me because 6th grade was the most defining year of my life. I still feel like a 6th-grader inside.

While I was in 6th grade I was skinny. Like rail thin. I think I was about 5 feet tall and I weighed 80 pounds. I never showered, I never did my hair, and I was always outside playing a sport of some sort. I was a tom-boy through and through. And I had absolutely NO chest.

Again, for those of you who know me now, you know that I have the complete opposite of "NO chest". But that didn't happen for me until 9th grade. Anyway, I was not concerned about the no-chest fact because I didn't want to bother with girlie things, but when my boyfriend decided to break up with me for a more girlie-girl, I decided it was time to ask my mom for a bra. Yep. A boy made me make that decision.

Now, the fact that I got a bra didn't change my outer appearance. I still wore a bright yellow over-sized T-shirt with matching yellow stretch-shorts along with matching yellow socks (which I folded over halfway) and black sandals (yep...head-to-toe bright yellow and socks and sandals to top it all off)...but I knew that I was wearing that bra and it had to have some effect, right? Right.

The problem with not NEEDING a bra is that it's easy to forget to wear it sometimes.

And sometimes I would forget where I placed it.

And so, our story begins:

It was the last week of 6th grade. We were going to have our sports day (I don't remember what it's called...if you remember Ford or Meg, will you please leave it as a comment on this post so I can remember?) and the school had asked Meg & me to sing the Star Spangled Banner at the opening ceremonies. We were pumped! My mom recorded the piano part on a cassette tape and I lugged her big boom-box to school with me on the bus that day...in a black garbage bag. Why did I bother putting it in a bag when the boom-box had a handle you might ask? Well I have no idea. I often make things more complicated then they need to be...maybe it's because I wanted someone to ask me what was in the bag? I don't know...

So I lug the massive boom-box to my classroom in the black plastic garbage bag and I then remove the boom-box from the bag so Meg & I can warm up to the music in the bathroom. I have butterflies as I walk down the hallway to the bathroom. People are whispering and there's a lot of excitement in the air, and I am just feeling really cool in my yellow outfit with my scraggly hair and my socks and sandals. Meg and I practice and then we head back to our classrooms. We are nervous but excited. Only a few minutes until our singing debut. But then, as I make my way to my classroom I can hear the boys laughing and talking...I can hear the word "bra" being said by several different voices...I quickly feel my back to see if I happened to remember to put mine on today...it's not there...but there's no way that the group of people huddled up in my classroom could be seeing my bra...my tiny little white bra lying on the floor...and I look...yep, it's mine...it must have made it into that classy black plastic garbage bag somehow...but as I break through the circle to pick it up (I had to pick it up, I couldn't just leave it there...though now that I look back it would've been the smart thing to do...I didn't need it anyway) I did something that I will forever regret...I really and truly am forever sorry about what I said as I picked the little white thing off the floor... "Oh, this is Megan's bra...I'll go give it to her..." And off I went to slip it on in the bathroom.

Needless to say I was sick about lying all day long and I had to tell Meg the truth when we got home that night because the guilt was just killing me...and Meg being the cool person that she is forgave me...though she did want me to confess to it so she didn't have that hanging over her head for the last week of school, but what was I supposed to do? Bring up the horrible ordeal again and say, "Does anyone remember the bra that was on the floor yesterday? Well, it wasn't Megan's, it was mine." It never happened. And I still owe you for that Meg. I'll take you to Frogurt tonight. My treat. And then maybe scraggly little Chelsea's most embarrassing memory can finally be laid to rest...

The moral of this story: Don't bring your boom-box to school in a black plastic gargabe bag.

8 comments:

Angela said...

love it, that is so funny. I remember wearing a bra when I did not need one, man I felt cool.

Babe in Boysland said...

BAH!!!!!! Okay, that is absolutely horrifying and awesome. Thank you for sharing it with the world, although the whole world may not see it, you're whole heart may finally begin to heal.

And, yes, I am proud. :-)

Down By the Bey's said...

I love that story. I don't remember what sport's day was called either. I think you were a cute 6th grader. =)

Britt said...

LOL! Great story. Lucky to have a forgiving sister. That is so funny!

Meg said...

Oh I am laughing so hard! I love that story! Only I don't know why we were so mortified now that I look back on it, it is a bra for heaven sakes! I really didn't care that you said it was mine, I certainly hope you haven't felt bad all of these years. But, if it makes you feel better I guess you can buy me a Frogurt... I guess... I can make that sacrafice... And I love the moral of that story, you are so dang clever! And the best time ever! (it wasn't meant to be a rhym, but it was...)

Andee said...

HILARIOUS! I'm laughing so hard inside. (Don't want to wake up the kiddos.) Those days of crazy hair and oversized tshirts were terrible. I was right with ya!
So I misplaced the paper with your email. Would you pretty please email me at andeemcdonald@gmail.com? Lovies!

Richins Family said...

LOVE IT!! I was remembering the days of elementary and I don't remember you being scraggly at all :) but i did love your story and am glad i found your blog :)

Eric & Laura said...

LOL!!! Oh Chelsea! I love that while I was reading this story I could TOTALLY picture your cute little 6th grader self in my head again! LOL! Others may think you were embellishing a bit with the yellow, yellow, yellow...but I remember. lol! And it gives me flashbacks to my pony-tail enduced facelift. BAWHHHHAHAHAHAHA! LOL! I am laughing so hard! LOL! How on earth could our sisters have let us go out in public that way?!?! lol! I can't stop laughing. I sure love you! Thanks for making my day!
Love,
Numchucks

LOL! p.s. thanks for the totally awesome nickname too! I thought I was SO cool! :D and TOTALLY tough! ;)