looking back

mom was showing my some of the scrapbooking she's been doing tonight. much of it was of her younger years - her baby book and into elementary school. a couple of things struck me as incredibly funny. i share them here with you:

this

was an excuse note that mom wrote to her teacher to try and get out of p.e. class one day. she said she distinctly remembers her friends saying, 'oh pam, that looks just like a grown-up wrote it. miss kates will definitely think it's from your mom!' funny thing is, the teacher let her out of class that day - not because she believed the note, but just because she thought it was funny. then she told my mom to take the note home to her mom - and she did!!! my mom's 'bicycle license.' you say: 'sarah, i didn't even know they made such a thing.' well, apparently back in 1962 they did.

lastly (and this is my favorite). my mom grew up in a very small town in texas. so small, in fact, that when you had a birthday party, it got written up in the paper! my favorite line: 'the small, long table was covered with a circus-patterned tablecloth and centered with balloons covered with stars.' they bring you all the details in andrews, tx. you'd think they'd been covering the world's best party ever. but no, just your standard 3-yr-old birthday party. wow.

even funnier, my mom has a newspaper clipping that reports that her cousins came to town to visit. that's all. just that they came to visit.

i promise. i'm not making it up. i guess in a small town you'll take whatever news you can get.