Conquering Obstacles (Part 7--Oh, Baby!)

I'm 9 years old now and finally settling in at Newman School, even though I really only have two friends, Jacque and Linda, the girl next door. This year brought me several up and downs, but I believed that my life could only get better.
UPS

My yearly visit to Dr. Allard actually gave my mom and dad some signs of hope as he explained to us that once I was 12, they could do something about the brace I was still wearing. 12?  Hey! I can wait three more years. Good news for sure!

During recess one day, a boy named Lawrence ran up and kissed me on the cheek. Did I like him? No. Did I like the kiss. No. Besides that, someone probably dared him to do it. There is no way that any boy would ever like me. I wasn't "normal" quite yet.

Once again I found myself on a stage, but this time it was for the state spelling bee. Like the majority of children, I missed a word that I had spelled a hundred times--sepErate instead of sepArate. But it didn't matter how I did because I knew that my parents would be so very proud of me. My dad gave me a special present after the spelling bee--a crisp, new $2 bill. I thought that was the most special thing he had ever done for me and tucked that bill away in a very safe place, where it still remains today.

DOWNS 

The orchestra came to our school, and I immediately decided that I should play the cello. When I asked my parents, they were not only shocked, but gave me the adamant, "Absolutely NOT!" I couldn't believe my ears....what did they mean NO? I had never been told "No" before but always, "You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it." My mother explained to me that the cello was bigger than I was, and I wouldn't be able to carry it. She had a good point, so that "Join the Club" activity didn't last long. BUT the next Christmas they did present me with an organ, which I played for hours on end. They always seemed to know what was best for me. They knew me better than I knew myself.

One UP turned into a DOWN because I was no longer the only apple of my parents' eyes. My sister was born, and the first few months were HORRIBLE!  All she did was cry and cry and cry some more. My mother spent all of her waking hours walking the floor trying to soothe my sister who had been diagnosed with the "colic." My new baby sister was driving everyone crazy, me included.

Why is it that babies can cry and scream for hours and never get hoarse and lose their voice?

My brother was born two years later; but to be quite honest, I don't remember much of either my sister's or brother's childhood years because my life found bumps and bruises of the worst kind and was about to shatter.

To be continued...