Before Kindergarten, I thought I was ugly and different because everyone else in my family had brown hair - and I was blond! But then I met Mrs. Lyle, and she was blond and beautiful. I knew I would grow up to be beautiful, just like her.
When I took apart my old acidic scrapbook a couple of years ago, I pulled out all my school photos and memorabilia and created a new K-12 scrapbook for myself. One of my goals was to record the stories that have been told again and again in my family but never recorded. This story about my hair is one of my favorites, and I'll always be thankful that Mrs. Lyle had blond hair so I wouldn't grow up thinking I was ugly.
We moved to another city before I started 1st grade and then later to another state. In the summer of 2010, my daddy was attending his high school reunion when he ran into Mrs. Lyle (that's not her name anymore, but she'll always be Mrs. Lyle to me). He called me so I could talk to her, and after all these years, I was able to share with her the influence she had on my self-esteem at such a young age. I've heard and told this story so many times and never realized that she had never heard it!
This post is part of Sian's Storytelling Sunday. Click here to read more stories.
Lovely story Melissa..and how great that you were finally able to tell her what an influence her blonde hair had on you!
ReplyDeleteAlison xx
Funny, I had very blonde hair as a child and never thought much about it. Except I was jealous of all the attention little sis with her shiny copper red hair got!
ReplyDeleteAnd the word verification is "hairesed" too funny!
It is amazing the conclusions small children make up on their own. How neat that your story came full circle when you were able to share it with your teacher.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely story and how wonderful to be able to share your story with Mrs. Lyle after such a long time.
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely story, we never know what goes on in children's minds
ReplyDeleteGreat story - isn't it amazing how one teacher can have such an influence on our self-esteem? I still remember my 5th grade teacher telling me I actually had a lot of "common sense" in response to something I'd written that my family always told me that I had none of it! It made me feel so much better.
ReplyDeleteRinda
What a lovely story Melissa! I love the fact that you were able to talk to Mrs Lyle and tell her how much her influence meant to her - it must have been a very special conversation.
ReplyDeleteAnd your gorgeous blonde hair? We all love it!
Thanks for joining in again this month Melissa. It's always a pleasure to read one of your posts
That's so cute Melissa - love the smiley photo of your younger self. How wonderful to finally be ableto share with your inspirational teacher - I'll bet she was chuffed to bits*!
ReplyDelete* English phrase meaning really pleased :P
How wonderful that you were able to share how Mrs. Lyle influenced you. Ièm sure she was moved by your story:)
ReplyDeleteOh yes, what a wonderful conclusion to your story from kindergarten - I bet she was thrilled to hear that one!
ReplyDeleteI love this story and especially the ending. So nice that you knew at that age what we all know now...you and your blonde hair are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful you were able to finally tell Mrs Lyle she had made a difference during your childhood. Great story and gorgeous blonde hair. Irene
ReplyDeleteHi Melissa you are beautiful! I was jealous of my little sister and her blonde hair as I grew up she has always been the gorgeous one. It is interesting how we view being different to other people.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun story! I'm sure that she loved hearing it. Words are so powerful - makes you realize that when you share a few kind words with someone you could possibly be making a life long impact. :)
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