Love Is In The Air, I Hope!!

Above is a picture of my daughter, Andria, when she was five years old. She attended a private kindergarten then because she, as my other 2 children, were born in Sept. (I'll save you the counting of fingers...December was apparently our "whoo-hoo" time), which is the cut-off age for children entering school in TX. She was going to turn 5 Sept. 15th, 1983, but since she wasn't 5 at the end of August, she and all the other Sept. kiddos had to wait another year before they could enter Kindergarten. Well, Andria wasn't going to wait, not her, she had been ready for the classroom from birth!!

She used to play both teacher and student from the time she was two. My sister had given her and my oldest son, Joel, who is 2 years older, desks and she took that Fisher-Price piece of furniture really seriously! I recall once she came into the family room excited about the fact she "could read," and wanted me to go back to her blue and pink little room to listen, so I complied. She read a long soliloquy of Cookie Monster and the importance of brushing one's teeth. I sat on her Strawberry Shortcake covered bed as she read all five pages. I was impressed since she was only 3 and I had never really taught her to read. I thought perhaps she had listened in during her older brother's required reading time and heard me help him pronouce words. I had difficulty showing him how to read since I was taught phonetically as opposed to sight-words, but we managed.

One night at the dinner table, Joel gave away her secret out of anger and spite because she had eaten his Milky Way candy bar his grandmother had given him...she also got one, but Andria always lived in the moment and was one of those "instant gratification" type of gals, still is!! It turned out, she sat at her little desk, listened to one of her Sesame Street vinyls on her record player and memorized the story. I was still pretty impressed since she knew when to turn the pages. Joel was "spittin'" mad at is sister as he had every right, but I couldn't help but think what a clever little girl I had sired. Of course, she was reprimanded, no dessert after dinner, and had to buy her brother a candy bar to replace the temptation she had succumbed to earlier, with her allowance...ya know, hit them where it hurts!!

As I said, the photo above was taken at age 5 right before we headed out to her school for her Kindergarten graduation ceremony. I don't recall exactly why they dressed in costume, but she wore my sister's China (cheena) Poblana outfit. If your interested, Google China Poblana, but it's a native dress of Mexico, well, one of the many. My mother had it in her "Ope Chest-er" which is actually " Hope Chest," but that's how my maternal grandmother pronounced it...we liked her version better!! LOL My mother had to rebead the silk skirt and we went to Juarez, right across the border from us, and we bought the sash and I think, a new blouse. I bought the huge ribbons for her hair and this is the finished product....she was adorable!

That was me during my "big har" days....someone talked me into getting it all permed up since my hair is as limp as old spaghetti....really glad I got over that look!! LOL Amazing, was I ever that young and that thin??!!! Take a look at those shoulder pads!!! That pic was taken in front of our fire place in the only house I owned with the ex.

The reason I'm dedicating this blog to my daughter is that she is going to do it again, as she told me over the phone yesterday, "Mom, he's buying the cow!" Odd way of telling me she's getting married again, but that's Andria! My future s-i-l asked me and her father for her hand in marriage, via a text back in early December. He gave her the ring for Christmas, but no definitive date was set, until yesterday. The baby was sick Wed., so she stayed home from work to take him to the doctor...stomach flu...yuck!! Michael had gotten the good news that he had been hired by Apple and will begin working in May but will continue working on towards his college degree. Stomach flu and all, it was turning out to be a really happy day, so they decided to go to a little town up the road from them and get their license.

So next Wed. is the big day and I, unfortunately, will not be attending. Her last marriage was also through a JP, but here in town. The bride wore a lovely lavender dress with small floral embroidery work and was 7 months along with my sweet Sean!! LOLOLOLOL They did have a reception at what was my old house and everyone had a great time. Her father didn't' stay long since his bride was waiting for him at home and as he saw the guests arriving, my aunt and cousins walked in, he knew my parents weren't far behind, so he high tailed it....my father never got around to calling him a "son-of-a-bitch," and he wasn't about to stick around and give him that opportunity!!! Again, LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! So, she and Michael will have their civil ceremony next week, but they are going to treat themselves, with a little help from me (very little help) and have the "big fat beaner" wedding next summer. I'm hoping she'll be with child again, this time with maybe, hopefully a little girl. I love my Penis Posse, but I would love to have a little granddaughter so I can dress her in her aunt's China Poblana skirt, rebead it and put big red ribbons in her hair someday! Peace out.