I must have gone out searching for 100 things that flooded my brain, and I finally decided it was too much fun not to share some of them. I'm going to break it up into a few posts over the next couple of weeks, just because there's too much to share it all here. But here's a start at what I was reminded of while I was stocking up the backpacks with sharpened pencils, glue sticks, pencil-top erasers and scissors (although not many of my deep-seated memories were actually school-related, after all) ...
I insisted on AquaFresh toothpaste because I thought the colors were so cool.
I totally rocked the banana clip. Hair pulled TO THE LEFT SIDE, no less.
I wore my banana clip most often the Summer I discovered Sun-In. I thought it looked SMASHING, but I'm here to tell you that Hindsight called to let me know it was rather unfortunate.
It took a whole lot of effort to maintain even unfortunate hair back in the day, which is why my Caboodle came in so handy. The Tween's Tackle Box got me through many an early morning with the appropriate amount of mousse, hairspray and makeup. OH JUST YOU WAIT I HAVE PICTURES OF THE MAKEUP COMING NEXT.
My Caboodle held my two favorite flavors of Kissing Potion, Mighty Mint and Cherry Smash. I believe I also had a brief fling with Watermelon, but I never cared for Bubble Gum.
Nestled close to my Kissing Potion was probably my teal mascara. I wore teal mascara to church on Easter Sunday. Oh no I didn't. OH YES I DID. And every other Sunday, as well.
Every Saturday morning I watched the Shirt Tales with my sister. I think they lived in a tree, or their home base was a tree or something. Anyway, they were animals who wore shirts. We loved them.
And before there was Chuck E. Cheese's, there was Showbiz Pizza. I had a birthday party there, and we attended many there. Skee-ball, I can't quit you.
Did anyone
I don't know why I could only find this picture in black-and-white, but we watched every episode of Down to Earth. Anyone else remember it? "Back down to Earth to teach the Prestons, lessons ... Richard, Lissie, Dwayne and JJ, too ..."
I've always been a gum-chewer. This liquid-filled gum was my kryptonite. Loved to chew it during church. YUM.
Decades before Silly Bandz came jelly bracelets. I had them in a rainbow of colors. And I was willing to trade them for just the right elusive googly-eyed sticker when we started trading our hard-earned fashion accessories at lunchtime.
In elementary school, you would have had to try very hard to catch me on a day I didn't have one of these babies in my hair.
I don't have much to say about this one except that we watched it. I loved how they slept in matchboxes.
In high school I read this for the first and only time. To this day, I still feel spiritual warfare as a physical presence around me. This book totally freaked me out and also made me much more aware of my spirituality and the spirituality (or lack thereof) of those around me.
I remember carefully twisting my teal, purple and cream Twist-a-Beads together on the night of my sixth-grade dance. They coordinated perfectly with my teal, purple and cream plaid shirt, teal jeans and teal mascara.
And last -- but certainly not least -- on this trip down Memory Lane -- are the famous jelly shoes. I think I had them in lavender ...
And my sister had them in pink.
NOW. I know I have some readers who are too young to remember ANY of these things. I love you, but I thank you kindly for not pointing that out in the Comments. I feel old enough as it is, packing my 2nd grader and Kindergartener off to school.
