Mocha With Linda hosts a weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site.

This week’s question is:

Tell about your senior year in high school. Were there any special traditions such as getting a senior ring? Were there lots of activities and parties as you neared graduation? Were you in any extra-curricular activities that had traditional “rites of passage” or “passing the baton” too the next class? Were awards given out – either serious or fun? Did you send out graduation announcements? Did your school have a Baccalaureate Service in addition to the graduation ceremony? If you attended church, did your church recognize/honor Seniors in any way? Did you keep your tassel – did you hang it from the mirror of your car or do something else special with it? What sorts of things did you get for graduation gifts? Was it a tradition to display the gifts in your home? Remember, the questions are just a springboard of ideas. You may answer them or just use them to get you started.

I did get a senior ring. For some forgotten reason, I got it sized for my pinkie finger, then, being normally the traditionalist that I am, I fretted over whether I should have. It stays in the jewelry box now, but I am sporting it here:

I didn’t really like my senior portraits with my little fake smile there. We went to a studio on our own rather than having a photographer come to school, and I went by myself and felt very stiff and awkward. I should have gone with my mom or a group and had more fun with it, and I think my expression would have been more natural.

I don’t remember any parties, but I do remember a group of us going out to a nice restaurant afterward. I don’t remember any passing-of-the baton type ceremonies. There was an award night, but I don’t remember what I got except that it was announced then that I was valedictorian. We only had eight in our class, so, though it was still an appreciated honor, I probably would not have fared as well in a larger class. Yes, I did send out announcements. No, I don’t remember having a Baccalaureate or our church honoring graduates, though they may have and I’ve forgotten — this was over 30 years ago!

I did keep my tassel, and it is probably in a box somewhere. I received mostly money as gifts, but also some things I’d need for college like towels and luggage.

I do remember some type of senior/faculty game — maybe a volleyball game? And I really didn’t want to play because I am so unathletic. Somehow they let me man the concession stand instead: I remember my English teacher saying I could do so because I was “all brain, no brawn.” Thanks, Mrs. S. — I think.

Our senior trip was to Six Flags Over Texas, which, by today’s standards is kind of dinky, but we thought it was fun at the time.

Mostly I remember the thrill of finally being a senior and having the end of the goal in sight that had been on the horizon most of my life.

I also wanted to let you know that I have begun hosting a meme on Mondays where we can share interesting quotes we’ve read from books, blogs, etc. It’s called The Week In Words: you can read more about it here, and I hope you’ll join us!

Mocha With Linda hosts a weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site.

In light of Teacher’s Appreciation Week, Tell us about the teachers from your school days. Who were your favorites? Why did you like them? How did they influence your life, your occupation, or another aspect? Have you ever gone back & seen or contacted a favorite teacher to express your appreciation? Do you still keep up with any of your teachers? Was Teacher Appreciation Day/Week celebrated when you were in school? (Just share about favorites this week; we’ll visit the not-so-stellar teacher memories another day!)

Remember, the above are just suggestions to get you going. Post your flashback Friday and go to Linda’s to link up.

I remember loving my very first teacher in first and second grade (kindergarten wasn’t required then, and in this school, first and second grade was combined), and wanting to be a teacher because of her influence. Oddly, though, my only specific memories of her are unpleasant ones. For some reason, when the second-graders were learning cursive writing, I really wanted to learn it, too, so I was practicing their lesson while the teacher worked with them. I don’t remember what the first-graders were supposed to be working on at the moment, but as Mrs. Murphy walked by my desk, she saw me trying cursive, and severely scolded me. I can understand being in trouble for not working on whatever I as supposed to, and I can understand her wanting me to wait until instructed so as not to form bad habits, but I felt she could have handled it much more gently and positively, even encouraging my wanting to expand my knowledge and experience while letting me know there were some things I wasn’t quite ready for yet. I jokingly claim my bad handwriting is due to early traumatization. 🙂

I do remember something about each of my elementary teachers, but overall my memories are pretty hazy — that was a long time, after all. 🙂 But I do remember my fourth grade teacher coming into our fifth grade classroom the following year to let us know she was getting married. I thought it was neat she would want to share that with us. I remember my fifth grade teacher drawing a portrait if each of us and hanging them all around the room until the end of the year, when she sent them home with us. I have no idea if that might still be in my mom’s attic somewhere — something to look for some day, I guess. I do remember that teacher saying something at one point indicating she was a Christian, which I thought was neat. My sixth grade teacher wrote and produced a school play: in fact, she published a book of school plays that year, and one day in class we got to watch a local news or talk show where she was being interviewed about it.

Junior high is a blur. I went to two different schools for seventh and eight grades. Eighth grade was about the worst year of my school experience, but not in relations to teachers. I can’t remember any teacher there, good or bad.

I was in a public high school in ninth and tenth grades and have some vague memories of a few teachers there. Probably the best teacher was the science teacher, though science wasn’t my favorite class, and though I don’t think she was generally popular as a teacher. But she laid things out pretty systematically and evidently explained things in a way that I grasped. At one point we were supposed to make a poster on some aspect of science (with our own writing, art work, painting or coloring, etc. — no cutting and pasting neat stuff from magazines, and there were no computers then to print neat stuff from). I was taking great time to measure and make sure everything was straight and my title centered, etc., and was a little dismayed that a more artistic classmate was whipping hers together not only quickly but beautifully. But as the teacher walked around the room, observing, she stopped and pointed to my work as an example of carefulness and thinking and planning before executing, and she admonished the others not to rush through it. That made me feel better. 🙂

I transferred to a Christian school before my junior year, and, again, have hazy memories of many teachers, but probably my favorite was my pastor. I believe he taught Bible classes as well as a few others, one of which was Creation vs. Evolution. I remember beforehand thinking that as long as I believe God created the world, why did I really need to even think much about evolution? But that class was valuable. I had never thought before that if the first two chapters of Genesis weren’t true, then all the rest of the Bible was questionable as well, so it was important, indeed, and as he laid out the various arguments for and against each, it just all became so clear, I didn’t know why anyone had trouble seeing it. He was a born teacher, a very gentle man, full of good humor.

I have more favorite teachers from college, probably because that’s not quite as far back in memory. My freshman year I had a History of Civilization class that was the first history class I ever liked, due to the teacher, but unfortunately the last history class I ever had. If I could have been a professional student, I would have loved to have taken more, especially under that teacher. I also loved my Literary Criticism teacher from my junior year. I believe that was the only class I had with him. I got really mad when I heard a guy in my class describe the teacher as boring! He was not a dynamic speaker, he didn’t move around a lot, but he was brilliant, and if you listened (and liked literature), you felt like you were sitting under a fountain of knowledge and wisdom. One of the most valuable of his lectures dealt with objectionable elements in literature. I probably still have the notes for that somewhere, but they’re probably in another box in the attic…

As I have thought back through these teachers. I tried to think what made them favorites. I think one key was that they knew and loved their subject: it wasn’t stake to them, and though they might teach the same things every year, they enjoyed teaching them to new people. They also were authoritative without being authoritarian….there’s a difference. They taught the student rather than just getting through the material. And they were reasonable in every area — discipline, class rules, homework demands, etc.

I don’t remember ever going back to thank any of them. The only ones I kept up with were the ones I went to church with, though alumni publications yielded general news. I had never heard of Teacher Appreciation week until this week, but it was common to give a thank you gift to teachers at the end of the year, especially in elementary school.

Teachers don’t have it easy! Especially these days. One of my favorite pieces about teachers is What Does a Teacher Make?

Mocha With Linda has begun a weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site.

This week she writes:

It’s spring. And for many high schoolers, that means PROM!

Share your prom memories. Did your school have a junior prom or just a senior prom? What did you wear? Was there a party after the prom? Did you go with a date or with friends, and if it was a date, was it a one-time date or a boyfriend/girlfriend scenario? Did you go to more than one prom (like, being someone’s date at another school or year.) Where was your senior prom held? Any particular songs come to mind when you think of prom? As always, pictures are great!

I went to a conservative independent Baptist high school my junior-senior years, and we didn’t have proms. We had Spring Banquets instead. There was a nice catered meal, usually in a hotel meeting room, skits, music, and a speaker. We did “dress up” and could date, but dating wasn’t “pushed” — in fact, whole families could come. My dad and brother went with me my senior year, circa 1975:

I am sorry the photo is so washed out. I dearly loved that dress — blue with pink roses (I liked those elements even then…) My dad rarely wore a suit, and when he did he always wore some kind of western-type tie. I don’t think I ever saw him in a conventional tie except at my wedding.

I was dating a guy at this point, but I don’t know where he was or why he didn’t attend.

I don’t have a photo from my junior year, but I wore a green dress that had the type of sleeve that puffed out at the top like a bubble and then straightened down the rest of the sleeve. I don’t know what you call that — it was something like this, only more puffy at the top, and the rest of the sleeve was straight. Anyway — I thought it was so elegant. I had not read Anne of Green Gables at that time, but I think I would have thrilled at having puffed sleeves like Anne.

I don’t have many specific memories of them except that I was in a skit my junior year (an I am so not good at that kind of thing!) and I had to speak at the one my senior year, but I forget in what capacity. I just remember having trouble figuring out how close to be to the mike and one of the musicians loudly whispering, trying to tell me, and me not getting it and getting all embarrassed, then deciding just to get through whatever it was I had to say whether anyone heard me or not so I could sit down. 😳

I was invited to the prom my sophomore year in a public high school, and I don’t remember much about it except the impression that we were playing dress up. We met at some girl’s house beforehand for refreshments, and it seemed funny rather than fun to me to see all the girls with their hair up and wearing formal dresses. It’s kind of sad to me that proms tend these days towards too-adult dress and situations. Of the two I much preferred the banquets: they were something fun we did as a group rather than as couples or individuals, and, of course, in a Christian school, there were not the problems with drinking or the expectations of the wrong kind of behavior.

The school my boys attended used to have a spring banquet, but they haven’t in the last few years. I am not sure why, but I miss having that big end-of-year event. At the school here they also included reading the senior will and things like that, and it was greatly anticipated each year. They always liked to go bowling or play putt-putt in their formals afterward. 🙂

Mocha With Linda has begun a new weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site.

The flashback question this week is:

What were birthdays like when you were growing up? Were they a big deal or understated? Did you have parties? Get to choose what or where the family ate for dinner? Are there any particular birthday traditions that you remember? Is there any birthday that stands out (good OR bad!), either due to the events surrounding it or due to the particular present(s) you received?

Birthdays were fairly understated when I was growing up. No one I knew then would have dreamed of having a huge bash costing hundreds of dollars for any party, child or adult. I think we got to choose what to have for dinner and then had the usual cake and ice cream. Funny, I don’t remember what I chose, but my dad always chose corned beef and cabbage for his. I don’t think we ever went to a restaurant for anyone’s birthday then, though in later years after all the kids were grown, meeting at a restaurant for a birthday became the norm.

There are only glimpses of a few birthdays that stand out in my memory:

I was thinking I had never had a surprise party, but I do remember one time we were meeting up with a bunch of people, either friends or relatives (not that relatives aren’t also friends…) or a combination at either the beach or a lake (sorry to be so inexact — you have to remember some of these memories are over 40 years old!) As preparations were being made, food packed, etc., nothing was said about my birthday, no cake was in sight, and I kept asking (probably bugging) my mom about it. I knew she hadn’t forgotten my birthday, but it didn’t look like we were doing anything for it. My mom was not usually harsh, but she must have told me in some way to stop already. So I was feeling pretty down until some time after we got there, when someone did pull out a cake after all. I have always winced at TV shows where it looks like everyone has forgotten someone’s birthday while they are actually planning a big surprise party — there must be some way of planning s surprise party without making the honoree feel really bad first.

On another birthday, I had a party with my cousins. In their family they had three girls, all one year apart, all with birthdays in August, as was mine (and when my firstborn was due in August, I empathized with my aunt being heavily pregnant in the hot humid summer three years in a row!) The middle cousin was my age, and one year we had a birthday party for all four of us. The only specific thing I remember was that my aunt set up a few little games like you’d see at a school carnival, and I remember one having to do with dropping clothespins in a jar from a certain height. Though I may have had other full-blown parties involving games and guests, this is the only one I remember, and I think it was my favorite of my childhood — not just because it was a full-blown party, though I loved it, but because all of us cousins got to celebrate together.

Updated to add: Slumber parties! I had forgotten until someone else mentioned sleepovers for her birthday, but I had several slumber parties as a teen, and I know one or two must have been for my birthday. I don’t remember if this happened on a birthday or not, but at one of them, I think we were telling ghost stories in my bedroom (I don’t know why that was a favorite pasttime  right at the age we were most scared of them…) when my dad’s face showed up in my bedroom window, which was open. He was shining a flashlight up from the bottom of his face, so he looked eerie, and laughed an evil laugh, sending all of us running out the door, nearly trampling my brother, who was listening at the door for our reaction.

Overall I enjoyed birthdays (and still do!), my own and others’, as an opportunity to do a little something special or different as a way to express to the birthday honoree that we love them and are glad they’re here.

Mocha With Linda has begun a new weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site.

The flashback question this week is:

When was your first date? You can choose either your first date ever or your first date with your spouse – or both! How old were you? What did you do/where did you go? Did anything memorable – either good or embarrassing? If it was your first date ever, did you continue to date that person? If so, how long? If it was the person you married, did you know he/she was “the one” or did it take a longer for love to bloom? Any other memories you wish to share about those wonderfully awkward first dates?!

My husband and I had our first date in January of his sophomore year and my junior year of college. We had worked together at the library all first semester, so were already friends. He asked me to a basketball game on a Friday night (a Friday the 13th, but I am not superstitious. 🙂 ), but I regularly went with a team to a nursing home in another town then, so I had to turn him down. But…it started snowing on Friday, so the university canceled all ministry teams for the night. As I was leaving the dining hall where the announcement was made after dinner, Jim was waiting for me, and said, “Well, since you can’t serve God, would you like to serve mammon?” He doesn’t remember saying that…but he did!

So we went to a basketball game that his best friend was playing. He somehow picked up on the fact that I am not much of a sports enthusiast, but we had a good time talking. We continued on as just friends, going out occasionally, but it wasn’t  long before I began to feel he was someone special and began to be interested in him as more than just a friend. It took me a long time, though, to determine that he was the one, partly because I am indecisive anyway, partly because I had been engaged before and wasn’t sure how to sort through my feelings and determine the Lord’s will. I told more about that and the rest of our “love story” here. We dated for almost a year and a half before we were engaged, and then we were married seven months later…30 years ago this last December.

I don’t have a picture from our first date — I don’t have many pictures from our dating days at all, and somehow most of them are a little blurry — but here are a few: