On childhood pastimes.

We weren't your average sport-playing kids.

In fact, the closest I got to a sport was taking "ballet, tap and jazz" at the Summerville Dance Company. (I joined because I wanted to be a ballerina- like every other red blooded American 8 year old girl. I was going to be a famous ballerina who ate pizza all day every day. What could have been better?). Many years later, I would try to prove every skeptic wrong and, thus, I would join the "Lil Rebels" as a superfluous softball player. But really... I would step up to the plate an the other team would yell, "get ready, y'all. easy out... easy out." Bottom line- I was not what you (or anyone) would consider a "natural athlete."

So, that leaves (childhood me) a lot of time to find something to do.

I would like to go on record as saying I am SO grateful to have had Kristin. Its hard to imagine what my youth would have looked like without a twin/ co-conspirator. How would I have survived summertime, swim lessons (where I first tried a boiled peanut and was sure the nice lifeguard had accidentally dropped it in the pool), school in general, piano lessons, and everything else.

We were notorious for playing "store". That's when my dresser became the check-out station. Is it strange that my dream career was a Kroger check out girl? Oh, 2nd grade self, you were aiming for the stars.

I have to say, my mom did a great job of not letting us just sit around and be bored. In fact, if we pretended to say we were bored, it was usually met with, "why not read a book or write a nice letter to a friend". TO this day, I don't know why the letter got to be "nice". How does she know I didn't write letters letting my 8 year old friends how bored I was? Unfortunately, it also had me associating reading with boredom or, worse, punishment. A real Renaissance child.

All joking aside, the way to a Kirker girls' heart (or attention, at least) was to request a play or dance routine of some sort. We were suckers for the spotlight, people. It didn't matter if it was mom holding two flashlights. I couldn't get enough. Sometimes I wish the Kirker family had owned a camcorder before 1992 and then somehow lost it for the years after those that have video proof. They were not kind years.

You want the names of the characters Kristin and I had recurring roles playing in our living room?

You won't believe me.

"Grandmother Archie" (I don't pretend to know) ... Kristin
and her "Pet Rat Billy" (Its not nice to laugh that hard) ... Me.

I willingly played along every time. Like I was going to make a grandmother mad.

In summation, I would like to point out that most of the above information served to teach me humility at a young age.  *and it continues on.

But you should see my shuffle-ball-change.