Monday, May 17, 2010

My first day of school

Copyright All rights reserved Rebeca Falcó
As I try to think back to my first childhood memories, the one I remember most vividly is my first day of school. My father adds things to my story that I do not remember, probably because of the events that occurred that early August morning, back in the 80's. Mom tells me that when I was a year old, I was already speaking in sentences, that I was very independent and wanted to do everything the way my older siblings did. I was so ready to go to school. "When the teacher asks me how much is 1 + 1, I'll say 2! When she asks me how much is 2 + 2, I'll say 4!" Dad says that's all I talked about. Well, the big day arrived and I remember walking past iron gates on my way to the classroom, which was at the end of the hallway. There was a group of "older kids," who back then seemed like high-schoolers to me, hanging around the hallway; now I realize they were probably third-graders. All of a sudden I felt something fall on my ankles. To my surprise and embarrassment, my panties had dropped! How or why I was wearing bigger-than-normal panties to kindergarten is beyond me! All I know is that image will be forever etched in my mind. I reacted quickly and covered up the situation with my red with blue straps book bag .

What I did next was nothing short of genius for my age. I grabbed the panties with my right hand and my book bag with the left one. Then, in perfectly synchronized increments, I proceeded to put my panties back in place, while covering the entire spectacle with my red bag. I spent the rest of the day with one hand on my hip, holding my panties in place! I remember nothing else, except how easy it was going to the bathroom, since all I had to do was open my tightly-clutched hand to release the free spirited panties. Why this did not happen before I left the house or got to school will forever be a conundrum. Maybe I had a wedgy holding it in place!

According to my father, other memorable things happened that day. I was not very happy when I got home and when he asked me if I liked it I said, "It's horrible! The teacher didn't ask me how much 1 + 1 was or anything else! All she did was tell me to be quite all day!" Apparently, my chatty personality was not affected by my lack of underwear etiquette.