Tuesday, August 12, 2008
























Yes, you are probably asking yourself why would someone do this to their kid?  I don't know why, I think she just didn't like me very much.  That sweater?  And the fly away collar under there is actually back in style!  Childhood was PAINFUL.  Let me just have a heart to heart with my seven readers out there.  My "sistagirls" will already know what I am talking about, but to all my current or soon-to-be transracial mom's to little Black girls, just feel me.....

I was what you would call "bald-headed".  Nope, no long pigtails with colorful barrettes and balls.  I was just down right bald.  My mother, bless her heart, never thought you needed to do anything to make the hair grow.  She just let it be free.  And boy, did I pay the cost.   I mean, I was her "little Princess" and so to her, I could do no wrong.  Which made me not quite the favorite to my extended family.  So in return, they teased me about my hair.  Or lack thereof.

Now mind you, I wasn't the flyest dresser either.  My mom was a single mom and she was VERY frugal.  Being that I was a small child -- "straight up and down" like the old folks say -- I was able to fit all the ''hand me downs".  Problems with that is, I have only one sibling right?   A BROTHER, who's four years older than me.   And he happened to be of a slight build as well, and he never gains a pound.  As a matter of fact he's 38 and can fit his band uniform and probably his prom suit.  Anyway, back to my point.   Because my mother was so cheap, I wore all of Charles's lovingly worn pants!  Yep, back in the day, we had these wonderful little things called PATCHES.  Does anyone remember them?  My mom would put a patch on the skidded up knee of my brothers pants and make me wear them.   Now she wasn't cruel enough to make me wear them out.  Nope, only outside where my friends (who were cruel enough to tease me) would see me!   

Luckily for me, I was SO cool (okay, not me but my very-popular brother) that no one really teased me... to my face.   See Charles was and has always been the popular one.  He was like the superstar to the WHOLE family, and my mom has 12 brothers and sisters.    Good ole Charles was like the cousin/brother/nephew that you wanted to be related too.   I really don't know why to this day.  I asked my therapist if it was my imagination.  (Just joking I don't have a therapist... anymore).   Because of his popularity, I didn't have to endure too many taunts and teases.  Plus I was a bully.  More on that later.

Anyway HAIR, that's what I was talking about.   This hairdo I remember well.  My mother lovingly (read: quickly), gathered ( I originally said brushed but realized there could not have been one brush anywhere in this house) my hair up to the highest point on my head and she put a rubber band on what she could, slicked some POMADE on the sides and then she taped this little bow on top.  Yep, i knew on my way out the door for picture day that I was screwed!

As bad as it was, my mother got the largest package and lovingly sent these pictures of me all of the country.  To about 12 states.   

And forever (and now thanks to the internet) I will be immortalized with this shirt, this sweater, this hair and a taped bow.  

TTYL   Robbin


10 comments:

  1. OK Robbin is back on the job.....I love this count down w/the pics. I look foward each week to seeing what you write about and what pic you will post. It is funny. Girl I feeling you on the hair styles. I also have some of those pics too. This is such a good way to keep the wait funny....Keep it up Robbin

    Celeste

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  2. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this picture. Seriously you are the cutest little thing.

    It makes me remember some of the fly pics I have of me as a kid....feathered hair, big bangs, blue eyeshadow w/matching sweater of course!

    Keep up the pics.

    Jillienne

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  3. Hi my name is Ali! New to the blog ring and Ethiopia process with Gladney! This picture is precious! We were a cutie patootie! I look forward to watching your journey! We are also waiting on a girl! Feel free to offer any advice on hair & such my way. I will take any. We have a son 2yrs old just adopted July 9! Obviously his name is Daniel by my name on here! Take care

    Ali

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  4. Your poor hair!!! Oh, and that's terrible you had to wear your brother's patched up pants. Glad your brother was so cool, to prevent you from getting picked on too badly.

    Like you, I had the most popular kid for a brother. It does have it's advantages (and disadvantages).

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  5. Robbin, thanks for cracking me up. I needed a good laugh today. I think you looked cute as a button and I had a shirt with a fly collar just like that. As far as the hair goes you know I know. But I also had a cool big brother that made me feel like I was the best thing since syrup sandwiches! So I thought I was tooo cute, fuzzy pony and all.

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  6. Robbin THIS IS HILARIOUS! And now I understand how it is that you became such a strong woman! LOL!!

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  7. You CRACK ME UP! Too funny. Yes, I remember the patches in the jeans and the hand me downs from the older brother (my brother is 38 too). I think I'm going to copy you and start posting my old "embarrasing" pictures.

    Oh, and about your hair....I KNOW i'm going to need help, because when I saw your picture I was like "what? what's wrong with that?" Haaa, my poor Sproutling...I feel sorry for her already.

    Tania

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  8. Robbin this was the best post. I had to laugh. I mean I really laughed, but not at your hairdo. Did you use the grease in the red jar? The story just took me back. My mom has a family of 10 and have that brother -- he is 48 and 110 pounds with a bucket of water as my daddy says. Like you I was straight up and down. Only a sista understands. My mother would always say, "not even a dog wants a bone with no meat on it! LOL...you took me waaaaaaay back. My turn is coming. I had a bunch of hair and my mother did not know what to do with it. You will see.

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  9. Oh yea. I was going to tell you that I was bald head until about two. When I see older people the first thing they say is "you were so bald your mother use to SCOTCH TAPE ribbons to the top of your head". Not cute at all.

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  10. I was bald til I was 3. Had bows taped to my BIG OLE ROUND head. My 4th grade pic, I had two pigtails. One at the top of my head, one beside my ear. I'm sure my mom didn't send me looking like that but you'd think someone would have fixed it before the pics were taken. My mom thought it was CUTE so she sent the pics to anyone/everyone she knew. I try real hard not to do that to my kids. Although, I'm sure when they are grown, they'll tell me how bad it was to wear their hair/clothes the way I fix them.

    Jan
    (found you thru Valerie)

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