K is for Kindergarten and Kwestion Kornucopia, AKA Wednesday is for Hodgepodge:

I have few, but indelible, memories of kindergarten. The newness overwhelmed me, and for the most part I remember being afraid. I went to a public elementary school in Baltimore City, and only recall four things from that year:

1. The classroom had a piano in it, which I hid under during sing-time. I could see eight legs under there--the piano's front two, the bench's four, and the teacher's two.

2. The teacher's name was Miss Hart. It was a misnomer. (I hope she's not a blog lurker these 40 years later; if so, I apologize, Miss Hart. I'm just sayin', it doesn't hurt to smile at children once in a while. Even if they're curly-headed brats with weird names.)

3. We each had a nifty little cubby for our supplies. I've been a cubby nut ever since.

4. Miss Hart kept mispronouncing my name. She'd call me Joanna. My parents had taught me not to talk back, and I thought that correcting a teacher's pronunciation was "back talk." When I'd tell other students that my name was Zoanna, they must've thought I had a speech impediment.

That concludes my short, but not-so-sweet, memory of kindergarten.

--------------

Now for today's Kornucopia, aka Wednesday Hodgepodge, brought to you From This Side of the Pond (or New Jersey, as I recently discovered, where pumping your own gas is illegal in some parts of the state):


1. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time or have a significant conversation with two people?

Significant conversation with two people. I tire easily of small talk and will "jump into" deep subjects by questioning people if I sense they might be open to it or by being rather transparent if asked important questions. For the most part, I don't like crowded parties; I prefer a max number of 12. I prefer to chat with just three other women at a time, or one other couple.

2. What objects do you remember from your parents' living room?

If you mean from my childhood living room, I remember a huge, long, very comfy orange nubby sofa that we got in the 1970s, an upright, kind-of tinny-sounding piano that I played for years, a 1970s console stereo (complete with turntable that played LPs!), and a gold recliner that they still have in their loft. They have always bought high quality furniture that lasts, and last, and lasts. And lasts. Oh, and books, books, books! Shelved, stacked, and scattered! A veritable library of everything from nursing textbooks to atlases to the ChildCraft series to volumes of children's poetry. Their living room is still jam-packed with books, as is every room in the house. Whoever said "There is no such thing as having too many books" was wrong. Believe me.

3. Do you hog the bed? Steal the covers? Snore?

Guilty on all three counts.

4. Speaking of Easter dinner....what is your favorite way to cook/eat lamb? Or does just the thought of that make you squeamish? If you're not cooking lamb what will be your entree du jour on Easter Sunday?

I've never cooked lamb. I've eaten it, but find it rather greasy for my tastes, except in Indian dishes. Growing up, my family didn't do a big Easter dinner. When I was young, my dad was a pastor and Sunday was the most tiring day of the week for him and my mom, and extended family just didn't get together, even though we were in the same state for two years. I never got it in my head that Easter was a big to-do (foodwise) but church was joyous and memorable celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus from the grave! Then we came home and hunted for Easter eggs. It's really funny in an odd way to write those sentences back-to-back. Celebrating the Resurrection + hunting dyed boiled eggs = Easter. Hmmmm.

But you didn't ask about all that, did you? Let me be concise now that it's too late: this Easter we are celebrating my daughter's 22nd birthday and she wants to eat out at Bahama Breeze!

5. Let's throw some politics into this week's mix-oooohhh...Do you know the whereabouts of your birth certificate and when was the last time you had to produce it to prove you're you?

Yes, I know where it is--I think-- but the last time I needed it was when I applying for a job as a teacher, c. 2008.

6. As a child, how did people describe you?

Kids who knew me said: shorty, shrimp, goody tw0-shoes, friendly, smart, soft-spoken, sensitive and over-sensitive, bossy, curly-headed, fast runner. In sixth grade someone called me Greasy Hair, so I started washing it every day and have had a grease complex ever since.

7. What do you complain about the most?
To God I complain mostly that I feel utterly ignored by those who claim to love me. To my husband and kids, I complain that they don't appreciate me. Isn't life all about me?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I have become too much of a hermit lately. It's not good. There is an inherent selfishness in keeping too much to oneself. I need to get back to my old self who thrived on reaching out to others. I miss the classroom immensely. Usually I am refreshed by the company of others, but I find I have to initiate most get-togethers or else I spend my time with the same people over and over. My world has become too small and that needs to change. I want to start really "seeing" people and caring for them, but it starts with wanting to want that.