Sunrise Elementary

I attended Sunrise Elementary. It was maybe one mile from our house, and Mom made us walk as she had to be home for the daycare kids to come. Every once in a while she was able to get away while leaving Melissa with the kids at home to come pick us up, but sometimes we had already hitched a ride with a friend. I remember seeing Mom fly down in the old red Safari van, and I felt so guilty for taking a ride from Tenille’s friend. I knew Mom would be upset, but I didn’t know she had been so worried that she couldn’t find us. I always tried to walk home after that just in case she went out of her way to come and get us.

I was always in the Accelerated and Advanced learning classes at Sunrise (as were my siblings). Mom and Dad used to say they didn’t know where we kids got our brains from because when they grew up they would get “average” grades of “B’s” and “C’s”. In second grade I had Mrs. Ostler, but for “rotation” time I had Mrs. Saunders for English/Reading. She would hand out a picture from a magazine, and we had to write a short story on it. This is where I really began my writing and creativity. I had a keen understanding for correct spelling and grammatical/punctuation use at an early age. I was far above my level and other peers. In fact, I was better than a lot of high school and college kids. I LOVED to write. And at home, I would make magazines for fun. Dad even bought me a typing program because I loved to type (and I love the sound it makes on the keyboard). It was also while I was in second grade when I won second place in the Spelling Bee (I got out from spelling “knock” as “nock.” Needless to say I will NEVER forget how to do that from now on). I lost to Dominic Simpson (the second grade know-it-all with red hair). But I won all the other spelling bee’s after that. Mrs. Saunders would give me a prize every time I won.

In third grade I had Mrs. Fielding. This is when I learned how to write/read cursive, and I was so proud of it. One day she handed out a math assignment to the class and I raised my hand to ask her if she wanted the assignment done in cursive. She responded, “If you know how to write numbers in cursive, go ahead.” I remember feeling so hurt and embarrassed. I never cared for her after that.  She left halfway through the year, though. It turns out she got pregnant out of wedlock, and had to leave.

I loved going to school, but dreaded the first few days. None of the teachers could ever pronounce my name right. And everyone always laughed. But I got back at a lot of them at recess and P.E. Because I was so athletic, I was always picked first for teams (whether it was soccer, basketball, baseball, or dodge ball). During recess I played “Lightning” on the basketball courts with the boys. I beat all of them, and they were pretty embarrassed. I felt great. I continued playing at home, and my friend, Melanie and I beat two neighbor boys—Chris Romrielle and Chad Oscarson. The next day at school everyone made fun of them for losing to girls. I can’t take all the credit for being so good at sports, though. My dad and Tenille played a big role. Dad used to make me practice lay-ups and other shots on our driveway hoop. For each one I made, I earned $.05, and for each one I missed, he deducted $.05. He always worked with me and gave me suggestions on how I could improve. Sometimes I didn’t take his suggestions too well, though, because I was all steamed up from the game I had just played in. Looking back, though, I wish I would have been more receptive. Tenille tried out for the high school team and made it. She would teach me the drills/skills they would do at practice. I had a lot of them mastered by the time I reached that level.