Girlhood

Girlhood.

I've never actually visited Montana, but in 1963 I donned a bandana, and joined two of my second grade friends, and sang my heart out in the Third Avenue Elementary School talent show. The song, My Home's in Montana can be found on the internet today. 

What strikes me the most about this memory is that I never once questioned whether I could sing or not, I just did it. My friends and I won fourth place so I'm thinking we must have been pretty good. 

I liked that spunky girl of seven because I never again tried out for a talent show. There is something about that age that makes you feel invincible. Perhaps, that's why I ended my career teaching second graders who always answered with a resounding YES anytime I challenged them with something new. 

That same girl liked to try different ways home from school just for the adventure of something new. My Mapsco type brain even then was working overtime. A few years, and a few moves later I'd be leading my best friend on trips to unknown neighborhoods on our bicycles. I felt very confident in my ability to get us home. 

When we finally moved to Texas I spent way too long playing in the lot next door that I had affectionately named Czechoslovakia. In my eleven year old mind that was about as exotic as it got because I liked the way it rolled off the tongue. 

I once read that, "Girlhood is short as summer," and there is much truth in that statement. For me girlhood was a wonderful time of imagination, adventure and aplomb, and I miss that girl.