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Monday, March 28, 2011

Days of Color and Warm Milk

I was three years old, and my family lived in San Antonio. In the mornings I went to Rainbow Hills School, and my whole class was working on the biggest picture I had ever seen. My teacher had to push all of our tables together to hold it, when she rolled it out each day. At the end of the year, she hung it up, and it stretched across two walls.

My friend Maria and I worked together on the left side of the picture. Her long black braid pooled on the paper as she leaned forward to fill a small flower with bright orange. I picked up magenta and colored a larger flower above it. I started at the outside edge, slowly, making sure that the color stayed on the petal and not the leaves around it, my strokes getting faster and darker as I worked my way to the middle of the flower.

When coloring time was over, the teacher had us put up the crayons and go outside for lunch. I picked up the My Little Pony lunch box sitting in my cubby on the way out the door. Maria and I ran to the back of the playground to claim our favorite spot, the dark green picnic table by the fence. There was a big tree on the other side of the fence and its shadow fell across our table.

Peanut butter and banana on white bread bread, a bunch of grapes, and a Nutty Bar were nestled in my pink lunch box, next to a thermos of water. Maria opened up her box, pulling out tamales in a plastic container and some other food that I didn't recognize. She tipped her purple thermos toward me, so I could see the frothy, white milk inside. 

That night when mom was packing my lunch, I asked her if I could have milk. "I didn't think you liked milk," she replied, "and besides, it would be hot by the time you got to drink it." 

"But I will like it. Maria had some in her lunch today, and it was still cold. Please?" 

The next day I colored tree trunks. Coloring time was short because we had a fire safety presentation from Joey's dad and then we went outside to see the fire truck. While I was standing in line for my turn to sit in the driver's seat, I counted the folds in the yellow hose. The firemen that came with Joey's dad stayed during lunch to answer questions. Maria and I sat at our green picnic table and I whispered to her that I had milk too.

My nose crinkled at the sour smell when I unscrewed the cap on my thermos. One small sip was enough. The milk was hot and the taste matched the smell.

The next year we moved to Florida. The first day of kindergarten at my new school, I sat in the cafeteria that smelled like macaroni and cheese and looked at the stark, white walls and tables. One hundred kids were in the room, but the only noises were forks and spoons scraping on white plastic plates, because we weren't allowed to talk. A teacher walked next to my lunch table, holding a big basket, and passed out warm cartons of milk. I opened mine and the smell reminded me of that day at Rainbow Hills. I thought about Maria sitting on the dark green picnic table under the tree, and I wondered how she kept her milk so cold.


The Red Dress Club: Remember Kindergarten. Mine your memories and write about the earliest grade you can recall. What was special? What was ordinary? 


Constructive Criticism is welcome!

38 comments:

  1. I'm so impressed at the clarity of such early memories. This was beautifully written. I love the details - the tamales, the My Little Pony lunchbox.

    You weren't allowed to talk at all during lunch?!! Sheesh!

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  2. Hmmm now you have me wondering how she kept it cold. Unless her mom froze it the night before and by lunchtime it was thawed. Dang it Tracie I can't solve the problems like this on a Monday aaackkkk..

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  3. Wow! This is really great! I love the details you included, about Maria's braid and your magenta flower...
    one tiny thing; talking about tree in the 3rd paragraph, it should just be "its shadow" instead of "it's"
    I could totally smell my own elementary school cafeteria at the end; the mac and cheese and the warm milk from a basket... great job!

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  4. wow.....really good. I already want the whole story:)

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  5. I love that you remember your lunch box, the detail of drawing tree trunks, and, of course, the smell of sour milk. I had a few of those stinky thermos experiences, too.

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  6. Wow, that is a lot of detail for a kindergarten memory!

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  7. Wow! This is so sweet and touching.

    As you know more than probably anyone, I'm making the rounds to say goodbye to the blogosphere after five years. I can't remember if I already did this or not, but I wanted to make sure I officially said goodbye to you. I thank you so much for taking over the blog carnival. I swear, once I get my head on straight...straighter...I will submit one of my old posts to an edition.

    Thanks for all you do and keep up the good work, Tracie. Oh yeah, and I will try to post some photos of my botanical illustration on my "just sitting here on hold" blog sometime before long, too.

    Love ya! (((((((Tracie)))))))

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  8. Enjoyed this sweet account of such a tender age. Your memory is excellent! Lovely.

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  9. Just lovely, Tracie. I was thinking as I read it, how is the milk cold (Being a Texan and all). What a beautiful reflection -- especially Maria's braid pooling on the pictures.
    :-)
    Traci

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  10. no talking at lunch?
    that IS a bummer....
    FLA schools...*sigh*
    i missed you babe!
    And I am back!

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  11. Amazing details.

    Although I couldn't even not talk in the library of my HIGH SCHOOL. Which is why I got kicked out all the time.

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  12. Sweet post.

    Not allowed to talk? That's crazy!

    I remember standing in the corner in kindergarten (too much talking). Can you imagine?!haha

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  13. I agree with everyone else- great details.

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  14. I have no idea how you remembered all that. Maria's mom was magic! Or she had her dad's military-issued Thermos. :)

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  15. I love how clear and descriptive your memories are! The milk really ties it all together and I adore that.

    You used such strong words: frothy, stark, scraping.

    I loved how things came back to Maria at the end; friendships are so key in our memories!

    And last, nut not least, I moved aroundA LOT when I was little, so I get the new school bit that you captured so well!

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  16. Well done! Your memory is so clear. I love this piece. I could see the little kids all working feverishly on the giant picture.

    And the warm milk-bleck! It's amazing how smells and tastes stay with us.

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  17. Great detail.
    I spent most of grade two in the hall because I was too chatty.
    Silly rules.

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  18. The no talking school sounds like the one I went to. They were all about fun, huh.

    Great writing! I could clearly see everything you were doing, seeing, smelling and tasting.

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  19. What a great piece! I love all the details. I have a terrible memory, so I am in awe at your ability to mine your memories from three years old. I liked the tie-in at the end, where the warm milk reminds you of Maria and her curiously warm milk.

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  20. Your attention to detail, even after all these years is amazing. I like how you used the milk to connect your move from one school to the other.

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  21. No talking during lunch? Isn't that social time? Geez.

    Loved the details... what a vivid memory.

    Stopping by from TRDC.

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  22. Wow! How can you remember so much detail from three years old? Was that preschool or does Texas have Kindergarten earlier?

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  23. What a sweet story. I love all the detail you have. I'm lucky I can remember yesterday!

    Maybe she froze the milk the night before? I do that with my kids' juice.

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  24. Stopping by from the RDC. What great memories of kindergarten.

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  25. That was beautiful! I loved the little details - just the sort of things that DO stick in your head decades later: "Her long black braid pooled on the paper as she leaned forward to fill a small flower with bright orange."

    Kids have such a way for noting the tiniest little details. You captured me and you wrapped it up well with the open question on the milk.

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  26. lovely. the level of detail was impressive. I identified with this as Maria reminded me of my best friend from elementary school. I love how you wanted the milk even though you didn't know if you'd like it or not and the smell and taste. I bet she had horchata. :)

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  27. I have incredibly clear memories from when I was three as well. I often wonder, as I look at my 3-year-old daughter, just how much of this time she'll remember.

    My absolute favorite part was the description of Maria's braid pooling on the paper. That is such a lovely image.

    So happy to have you linking up!

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  28. I am loving all the memories of yesterdays! Especially the my little pony lunch box!
    I am so glad the provide my boys milk at school so I do not have to worry about them having warm sour milk!!!

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  29. It is true - there is an undeniably distinctive scent of school cafeteria. I can still smell it to this day.

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  30. Wow, your ability to recall so much detail at such a young age is amazing? This is a great piece with lots of sensory detail!

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  31. It's amazing that you remember it all so clearly! I liked this, I actually cringed a little as you described the warm milk!

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  32. Smells are so visceral, aren't they! To this day, when I see those tiny paper milk containers, I gag a little.

    (I hate milk).

    I love this, though.

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  33. I really like the descriptions. I was able to see Maria and the green picnic table.
    And I loved that you remembered Maria instantly when you got your carton of "warm milk".

    .

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  34. i love the clarity you were able to give voice to from your memories, i can smell that warm milk! and how your stomach must have turned when you realized that the same thing was going to happen at your new school!

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  35. I have to say that when I first started reading, I thought this was going to be more of a "recounting" of kindergarten memories. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was so much more. Your memories are so vivid and reflect that of the randomness that is childhood. "Her long black braid polled on the paper..." what a beautiful line.

    I loved how you pulled all of the memories from school, home, lunch outside, coloring, even the fire safety presentation, then moving on to the cold and stark atmosphere of the new school. Beautifully done.

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  36. Tamales for lunch? That Maria was a lucky girl. I loved the image of you two sitting outside eating together, sharing that moment.

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  37. kindergarden...I colored something the wrong color because i went ahead and didn't follow directions. I can still remember having to stand in the corner next to the doll house for that. she must have had a better thermos...lol...

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  38. I love this! And the way you ended it was just perfect.

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