Some of my friends have been around since I was 5, but a lot of my blog reading friends are newer. So today is a brief history lesson.
I grew up on CR 26. For those of you that are unaware, that's the road that runs behind the Goshen Meijer. We were what I would now consider upper-middle class. I was the only child. My dad was/is an engineer. (He has since moved with my step-mother to Lafayette) The mortgage was paid off and my dad made good money. No one would have ever guessed this however. Our furniture was old. My mom dressed like she was 80. (not living in the 80's like a little old lady) My dad drove an old ugly rusty blue Ford Taurus. (for those of you that saw me drive this to school I know you are laughing. We sold it my senior year for a whopping $200 cash money.) My mom's car was a wood-panel station wagon. I did have a million toys, and a pink and purple playhouse. We even painted the basketball hoop in our drive way pink and purple. (It was kinda an inside joke)
I had two cats. They lived outside and they had their own cathouse. My room had a bunch of Disney people riding bikes on ugly blue wallpaper. When I was 12 my parents got a divorce. Each bought a nice milk carton in a local trailer park. Before turning 12, I had only been to my uncle's trailer. It was so trashy that my grandma and I had had to go in with boots, gloves, and shovels to bag the trash inside. It was a complete embarrassment and I was terrified of the type of people that live in homes with wheels. (This was also the year I took up tennis. I think I always thought of tennis as a rich people's sport and it improved my thoughts about my living situation.)
I was pretty right on about the trash that lived in the trailers. It was my first in-person encounter with drugs, smoking, drinking and sex (On a personal note, to this day I have never smoked anything or done any drug.) Despite where I lived, I maintained decent grades, was a pretty decent person, and was pretty ok with myself. I was a size 4. I played two sports. I was on both newspaper and yearbook staff. I had some stupid boyfriends. (one of which I went on to marry) I didn't graduate with honors, which is weird cause I took every class with the word honors in the title. I was never popular, but I did enter two of the 4-H fair queen contests. I felt good. I looked good. I had a ton of potential.
Today's rant is about these following statements that have come about since high school. These are actually things real people have said to me. Below is both the statement and what I think it means. I gave you my background so you know why I feel these compliments are insults a bit better.
You look really good, for having five kids. = If you didn't have 5 kids I would find you a bit chubby.
You look nice today.= You look better than your normal self which is at the best average.
You manage well for five kids. = I would hate to be in your situation. I wonder why anyone would want to raise five kids alone.
Your kids are really cute.-surprised voice. (Sometimes say this even when kids aren't cute) = I didn't think someone like you could have cute kids.
I wouldn't have guessed you have five kids. = You look way too young to have that many kids so you must have started at 12.
Anyways....goodnight people I got distracted and forgot where I was going with this.
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