the life of a second grader

Year: 1993
Age: 8
Grade: 2nd

I've been looking forward to writing about second grade since I thought of this idea. This was yet another great year in school with a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Avant. She loved us so much that she retired that year...she knew no other class could measure up to us. We showed her our appreciation by throwing her a surprise party, complete with the letters AVANT hanging from the fan (that worked well until the fan got turned on), streamers, snacks and a goodbye song composed by the one and only John McCracken and sung by the entire class..."Goodbye Mrs. Avant, Goodbye."

After a storybook regular season, Alabama rolled right over Miami in the Sugar Bowl to win the National Championship. I've been to New Orleans many times since, but that trip was incredibly special. A boat ride on the Creole Queen, beignets, getting to stay up late to celebrate New Years Eve with the family, the chance to stay in a "rich family" hotel and of course the game.



The championship fun didn't stop when we left New Orleans. A story that has been replayed many times over happened a few months later. My Grandfather gave my Mom a necklace pendant of the National Championship ring. It was, and is, absolutely beautiful and has her initials, RS, engraved on the back. I may have been only 8, but I knew that my initials were LRS. So, upon examining the pendant, I quickly piped up and said, "Mom, when you die, can I have that? All I will have to do is add an L in front of the RS." Hey, it's true...and that pendant is beautiful!
I've already talked about my love for the Louisina Children's Museum. Well, there is also a Children's Hands On Museum in Tuscaloosa that I am a fan of as well. How thankful I am for my sweet Aunt Judy that used to take me. I'm fairly certain that I used to ask to go every time I saw her, and like any good Aunt, she usually obliged. There were tons of exhibits...I remember the dress-up area, an Indian cave and a hospital. But by far, my favorite was the sewing exhibit. I guess all those trips to CHOM paid off, because to this day, I still love to sew!


Now, here's a quick picture from Halloween. Looks like I am a clown and my sister is a bunny. Please note the costumes. You'll see that I am sporting a sash that is recycled from the Bongo ballet costume and my younger sister, Kara is pretty much just wearing a turtleneck. Pretty much, from the beginning, I've never been much for Halloween.