20 Memorable Moments Of My Life, A Chronology

Posted on November 27, 2008 with 5 Comments

1. I am a young child, maybe three years old. It is snowing outside, an enchanted snowfall, silent, the kind the crunches under your feet. My mum dresses me warmly to go outside in a soft pink snowsuit with white trim. I love the pink snowsuit.
2. I am in kindergarten, and it’s lunch time. The girls always sit in a circle to eat their lunch together and play My Little Ponies, or Barbie dolls. The boys sit in a separate circle and play Transformers. I am a tomboy and want to play with the Transformers, and one day I get up the guts to join the boys. My kindie boyfriend Joel lets me sit next to him while he shows me how the Optimus Prime toy works.
3. When I am five years old, my mum is pregnant with my baby sister. She tells me there is a new baby coming, and shows me her growing belly. It was there alright, but I didn’t believe her. A few months later, I get to sleep over at my best friend Ashley’s house and after school the next day, I go to the hospital and meet my new sister Kelsey. I feel smug because it’s a girl, and my brother wanted it to be a boy.
4. In grade one, a kid says the word “fuck” at school. I don’t know what it means, so I ask my mum when I get home. Horrified, she instructs me in an urgent tone to never, ever use such a bad word. I am alarmed at her reaction.
5. In grade two, my parents tell me I have to switch schools. I refuse, despite my absolute lack of voting power on the matter. I am heartbroken at the prospect of going to school without Ashley. We drift apart and eventually lose touch, but reconnect again as adults.
6. I am 10 years old and a competitive gymnast. I am in a training group with older girls because I am too good for the other 10 year olds. The older girls are taller than me and have set up the uneven bars for their height range. I attempt a transition from the low bar to the high bar, but it’s too far. I miss and land on my elbow, breaking my arm. I never get on the uneven bars again.
7. In grade five, I am unpopular. A mean girl named Sarah steals my gym bag and tramples on it with muddy shoes. Humiliated, I tell my mum. She suggests I ask Sarah to pay to replace it. I ask her the next morning, and at first she agrees, but then consults her friends and they spend the day making fun of me. It was the worst day of my elementary school career. Two years later, Sarah became my best friend.
8. I am 12 years old and I get the part of Alice in the play Alice in Wonderland. I make friends with a boy named Rudy, who is also in the cast. He invites me to a boy-girl dance party at his house. When I arrive, he presents me with a teddy bear and a card that says, “Dear Laura, you’re my sweetie bear! Love, Rudy” and he asks me to dance. I have never danced with a boy and I’m afraid I will look stupid or do something wrong, so I say no, unknowingly embarassing him in front of all his friends. He doesn’t speak to me again for years. When I am 16, Rudy becomes my first real boyfriend.
9. In grade seven, I am a procrastinator. Every time I fail to turn in my homework, my teacher assigns me a page of verb conjugations in French. If I fail to turn it in the next day, the number of pages I owe him doubles. Eventually I owe 168 pages. I never turn them all in, but I rock at French verb conjugations.
10. I’m in grade nine in high school and I’m unpopular again. I hate my school and want to leave, so I sign up for a four-month exchange to Australia. I make friends there and return home with confidence. I have never been called a loser since then.
11. I’m in grade 11, and I run into Rudy while he’s working at a pasta shop. I ask for his phone number. We go on a few dates, and one night he drives me home and asks me to be his girlfriend. He says he knows it’s a big decision so I don’t have to answer right away. I blush beet red and tell him I already know that I would like to be his girlfriend. Then I awkwardly say goodnight and get out of the car. He doesn’t kiss me for another three weeks, and not before my friend asks him what the hell is taking him so long.
12. I’m in grade 12, and Rudy is away at university in Edmonton. We are still a couple. I get the lead part in the high school play, and I make friends with a boy named David who is also in the cast (I’m noticing a trend here! I like actors apparently!) David and I get together to learn lines over coffee, and we hold hands in the hallway at school; I have a huge crush on him. I finally decide David is so much better than Rudy and give him flowers on closing night of the play. He comes to find me at my locker the next morning and kisses me in front of everyone, but they all fade away and all I can see is David. He is my first love.
13. It’s the morning that I am moving into residence for my first year of university in Guelph, Ontario. I am petrified with fear about living on my own. I am in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I suddenly feel light-headed and clammy. I lie down on the cold stone floor, nauseous, ashen and sweating – I am experiencing a panic attack. It only lasts two minutes but I think I am going to die.
14. I’m 21 years old and the supervisor of a coffee shop in Guelph. A customer comes in, orders a coffee, and asks me to stamp his coffee card. I tell him we recently discontinued the cards, but if he will hand in the card, I will give him his coffee free. Livid, he scrunches his card into a ball, throws it at my head and demands to speak to the supervisor. “I am the supervisor,” I tell him, and I delight in the look of horror that passes over his face.
15. As a very green new graduate, I score a job in marketing. I was convinced I’d never find a real job, so I am completely chuffed with myself for landing it. A few weeks later, the president of the company asks my advice on a marketing issue, then takes my suggestion. I learn that my opinion matters, even in the grown-up world.
16. It’s Chris’ 25th birthday, and I have taken him bungee jumping because he always wanted to try it. I am not a risk-taker, but I decide to try it too. When it’s his turn, he jumps before they finish counting down, but I take several tries to work up the courage. When I finally let go, I hate every second of it, but I’m proud that I found the guts to jump.
17. At the end of a salsa dancing lesson, a skilled dancer from the class above me asks me to dance. He is such a good leader that I can’t go wrong. Being whipped around the dance floor by someone who knows what they are doing is SO. MUCH. FUN.
18. I’m 26 and spending Christmas with Chris and his family. We are opening presents, and the last gift under the tree is a tiny box. As Chris brings it over to me, he gets down on one knee and proposes to me. I panic – I don’t want it to be like this. I didn’t think I cared about the ring until I open the box to find the ugliest ring I could possibly imagine. A year later, he dumps me and tells me I can keep the ring. I give it back anyway.
19. It’s a week after my 28th birthday and I’m at work. Rumours have been swirling for months that we are going to lose our jobs, but nothing has happened. My friend returns from vacation and tells me she got a weird vibe that morning; she asks if things changed and the layoff is coming. I tell her she’s just nervous, we definitely have more time. We both get laid off that afternoon.
20. I am travelling through Europe. I emerge from the metro station in Barcelona to warm, heavy rain. I surrender myself to it, throw my head back and let the raindrops fall on my face. Alone a long way from home, the short rainstorm (so typical of my hometown) feels like a nudge from Vancouver to keep going and have fun. I feel pure joy.