"Y" is for Youth...

A to Z Challenge:

ABC's of My Life...

Facts of Five….and youth~


If you are a new follower let me give details of Facts of Five. It was a model I used when I taught students with special needs in a self contained classroom. I presented a category such as ‘Five Cartoons’ or ‘Five flavors of Kool-aid’ and the students had to consider an idea that fit the group. It was fun and thought generating yet in the meantime, I was able to get to know what was important to my students.

So our category for today is youth; more specifically, memories from youth. Okay, class, I will begin~

1.) My spiritual upbringing besides being present at church each Sunday sitting in the 6th or 7th pew back on the left side of the sanctuary took place at Camp Mowana; a church camp affiliated with the Lutheran Church outside of Mansfield, Ohio. I attended one week each summer from first grade until I graduated from high school.

2.) Speaking of which, I began Kindergarten and graduated from the same school; Hopewell-Loudon School in Bascom, Ohio. It was and still is a K-12 grade building surrounded by cow pastures and corn fields. We graduated with 63 in our class. I really am a country girl at heart!

3.) I was in 4-H but got kicked out for teasing a girl in our troop. I also got kicked out of Sunday school by our Pastor’s wife who was the teacher. I think I was just a goody-two-shoes kid who wanted to ‘try-out’ what it was like to be a Bad-A--! I didn’t tell my mom I had gotten kicked out until I graduated from college…and obviously, I didn’t like it!

4.) My most embarrassing moment in life occurred when I was a freshman cheerleader. During a time-out we had to ascend a set of six or so stairs to step onto the stage. We were all putting our hands in the air clapping, trying to get the crowd into the game when CRASH! I tripped and fell on my hands and knees. Being stunned, I didn’t know whether to lay there and feign injury or get up and laugh! I did the latter!

5.) Inner qualities I’ve carried with me from my youth is I’m practical, sensitive to criticism, creative and an observer. Traits I’ve outgrown are clinging to people in my life, negative thoughts about me and my strong need to stay angry.

“In youth we learn; in age we understand.”

Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach