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In An Envelope…

November 17, 2009 by Joy the Baker 106 Comments

School Days 

Here’s a fun fact:  my Mom is a scrapbooker.  She’s a serious scrapbooker.  She’s got the paper cutters, the corner choppers, the fancy albums and colorful background paper… there are stickers…. so so many stickers.  She’s for real.  Scrapbooking is the new rubber stamping.  Remember the rubber stamp craze!?  Yea, we’ve moved on.  Scrapbooking. 

I went to my parents’ house a few days ago to find these envelopes gracing the brick fireplace.  The envelope in front had my name on it.  I was hoping for an early Christmas stocking.  Boy oh boy did I get it.  Among other darling and embarrassing photos of myself, I found a chronological history of my school days.  From preschool to high school.  Every cute, awkward and downright horrifying picture.  

Now.  Because I don’t know any better.  Because I’m certifiably batty… allow me to share with you preschool through seventh grade.  The later, more awkward years will follow, and we’ll all cry. 

School Days 

Though she will deny it, my Mom gave me this haircut herself.  I remember very well.  Even at four, I knew how ridiculous I looked.  

School Days 

First grade.  Somehow I think I rise above this bowl haircut.  

School Days 

Second grade.  That tiny headband is failing…. big time.  Nice frock.  I would totally rock that these days. Is that weird?  That’s weird. 

School Days 

Nice corner fading third grade!  I feel like there are some serious adult teeth hiding out in that mouth.  

School Days 

Oooh yes.  Full of teeth.   You have to grow into your teeth.  It’s true.  It’s like puppies with big paws.  Should I tell you how much I loved this Cinco de Mayo dress with matching hair ribbon?  Yes.  A lot.  

School Days 

Mixed girl hair is a hard thing.  It wants to be curly.  It wants to be straight.  It wants to ruin your life.  What are you going to do?  Button your shirt all the way up and hope for the best. 

School Days 

a)  Why do the school photographers make you look in the ceiling corner.  It’s awkward.  

b)  I thought this shirt was so clever.  I was right.  

School Days 

Oooh Joy .  Triangle hair.  So short.  So much volume.  I wish I could have gone back in time to tell you everything would work out ok… but the truth is that you’ve got some seriously awkward years ahead of you.  Yeesh. 

Enjoy the kitchen intermission.  Laugh at me.  Please… go on… laugh.  If your Mom is a scrapbooker, you might not want to laugh as hard.  Your time for an embarrassing envelope will come. 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. {lauryl}

    November 17, 2009 at 5:24 pm

    OMG, those are hysterical. Sorry, I totally laughed. Don’t worry, pictures of me at that age are equally funny. ;-)

    Reply
  2. Shannon @ bakeandbloom.com

    November 17, 2009 at 5:16 pm

    your 1st grade bowl cut is super cute aktually

    I have a fantastic one from the 3rd grade where I had decided to give myself a fringe (bangs) It was a secret fringe operation so I locked myself in the pantry (in the dark) without a mirror & snipped them. They ended up about 1/2 an inch long & fluffy.

    Not only did I have lousy hair for about 6 months my mum grounded me for cutting my own hair.

    Reply
  3. Sweetcharity

    November 17, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    Oooo, lawdy!! I’m giggling myself silly over here… Oh the memories this brings back for me. My hair was just fine until 3rd grade, when I begged my mom to let me get my ass-length ringlets cut into a bob. With bangs. It was a bad move. And fashion basically went downhill around that time too, I mean, not that the early 80’s were spectacular or anything, but late 80’s through early 90’s… ughhhhh! That’s really all I have to say about that.

    Reply
  4. Chaitali

    November 17, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    Aww..you look so cute! I just love your eyes..so pretty!

    My worst photo has got to be my 4th grade school portrait. I had worn a hideous purple and pink striped shirt and decieded to match it with purple skinny jeans with a matching sneakers and a hairband to boot.
    Worst part..my mom loved that photo so much that she enlarged it and framed it in the living room. So, everytime I go home, I’m faced with this awkward purple monster staring down at me. Yikes!

    Reply
  5. Sue

    November 17, 2009 at 4:32 pm

    Your four year old photo is especially adorable! My aunt was in beauty school and practiced on my hair for my second grade photo…a classic school photo nightmare:)

    Reply
  6. Meghan

    November 17, 2009 at 3:26 pm

    Everyone has pictures like this hiding somewhere….thumbs up to you for posting them! I know I had horribly giant red plastic glasses and braces and wore a matching red dress in one picture…my mother claims it’s her favorite! oh mothers :)

    Reply
  7. Rachel

    November 17, 2009 at 2:50 pm

    Okay I totally had that last haircut (but it was a frizzy mess on picture day) in the 7th grade! You were the cutest little girl.

    My mother has every picture from pre-K to 12th grade in an 8×11 frame in the living room. Every year she just put the new picture on top of the old one. And yes – she will take it off the wall to share with boyfriends when they come over (I guess to show them what their kids would look like?).

    Thanks for sharing! =)

    Reply
  8. Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen

    November 17, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    This is awesomeness! Serious awesomness.

    I had the same exact hair and it sucked! I wish someone taught my six-year old self how to do a proper blow-out or gave me some frizz serum or something. I always wanted to brush my hair like all the other girls. It wasn’t in the cards for me.

    Reply
  9. sarah

    November 17, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    love it! and i am the scrapbooker in this family

    Reply
  10. Laura

    November 17, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    Hi Joy ~ I’ve been following your blog and love it. Thank you for your openness. It’s very refreshing!! When my mom passed away 15 years ago I realized how important our photos and family stories are and created an album from the envelope of photos she had given me. Before my grandma got alzheimers I made an album with her where she wrote all the stories of growing up. These are some of my favorite treasures. We ALL have the awkward photos from our childhood unfortunately but you are so lucky that your mom is making albums with some of them. Someday when she is gone, you will turn the pages of those books and be so glad she was a scrapbooker.

    Reply
  11. Colleen

    November 17, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    i think i had that exact same cinco de mayo dress, or at least a very similar version!!

    Reply
  12. Elizabeth

    November 17, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    You were such a cute child. Your comments really cracked me up. You have said what we all feel when looking back at school pictures. Thanks for the laughs on a gloomy day in Iowa. :)

    Reply
  13. Cynthia

    November 17, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    *hole
    (in the o-zone layer)
    Not whole.
    I hate it when people do that. I hate it when I do that. I have an English degree. Okay no more comment-hog.

    Reply
  14. tracy

    November 17, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    you are adorable at every stage! you are totally right about growing into your teeth! my chompers looked HUGE in third grade. My eyebrows are the one thing that really changed over the years….maybe one day I will divulge!

    Reply
  15. Cynthia

    November 17, 2009 at 12:54 pm

    Oh, Joy. You crack me up. May I call you Joy? Being that you just shared these amazing little school-day flashbacks with all of us, I guess it’s acceptable.

    I would like to say that I for one, appreciate all and I do mean ALL of your circa-elementary school hairstyles.

    I was the kid whose mother actually allowed her to sport a GIGANTIC, gauzy hideous hair bow and a half bottle of Pantene Pro-V hairspray to hide budding “baby hairs.” That whole in the the O-zone layer? It’s my fault. To make up for it I carry my own bags to the grocery store and drink out of a nalgene. I hope it’s helping.

    Sigh. The things we did when we were too young to care.

    Anyway, yours is one of my all-time favorite blogs. sometimes I cannot read it at work without having to explain the outright laughter. That’s a good sign.

    Reply
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