A Pox On You! - The First Year Blues

So, I hope that you enjoyed the first installment of the special anniversary month feature, which I have decided will feature thirty-four different stories, with each one representing a year of my life so far.  If anything, it will provide posterity if my memory ever does decide to fail.  This way, I'll always know what happened to me.

(Whether the memory is pleasant or not.)

So yesterday I talked about the first twelve months of my life, and how I actually started my first year about eighteen days later than I should have.  I still don't know how my poor mother managed to carry me for nearly ten months! 

Note to self:  Get Mom something extra special for Mother's Day this year.

So, now we're going to take a look at a memory that I had while I was a year old.  Or, we're going to take a look at something that happened to me during my first year of life that I really don't remember, but I know happened because there is photographic evidence of it happening or because my parents have insisted that it really happened.

And trust me.  Parents never lie about these things.

So, let's have a look at what happened between 1982-1983 - otherwise known as Year One.

Of course, I have a snapshot ready to go for you.

And you want to know how I know it was from when I was a year old?  The T-shirt I'm wearing has the year written on it!  By the way, enjoy these snapshots while you can.  There will be some years in which they become less and less frequent.  I will explain why as we go on.

#1 SONG THE WEEK OF 5/18/82
Ebony & Ivory - PAUL MCCARTNEY & STEVIE WONDER

Aw.  A song about the keys of a piano, but also about racial harmony.  And Paul McCartney AND Stevie Wonder singing it?  This is pure awesomeness right here.  I'm loving 1982 so far, and I barely even remember it!

#1 MOVIE THE WEEK OF 5/18/82

Conan The Barbarian

Well, at least one thing I can say about this film opposed to the one that was top of the box office the year before...I have actually seen this one.  Not a bad film either.

#1 TELEVISION SHOW FOR THE 1982-1983 SEASON

60 Minutes

60 Minutes?!?  How utterly boring.

And the memory that I have of my first year?  Well, it was the year in which one of my sisters gave me my very first present ever.  I mean, this gift was truly a gift that kept on giving.  It was really a present that a person usually only gets once in their lifetime.  It's really that special.

It was a gift that was pink...no, peach coloured with red polka dots all over it.  I suppose if one really wanted to, you could use a Sharpie and play connect the dots with the red polka dots - well, hypothetically speaking anyway.  I don't even know if Sharpies existed in 1982.  Can anyone confirm this?

The only con with this gift was that it was itchy.  Very itchy.  And it wasn't like a mosquito bite itchy where you could scratch it and you'd feel better.  No way.  If you scratched, it hurt.  Badly.  With potential risk of permanent scarring!

Wait a minute.  That gift my sister gave me wasn't fun at all.  In fact, I do believe that she may have given me...

THE CHICKEN POX!!!

Sadly, this is true.  When I was a year old, my sister really did give me the chicken pox.  It was the very first thing she gave me.  Thanks, sis!

(That was sarcasm, by the way.)

That being said...I suppose that there were some positives to be had when it comes to getting chicken pox so early in life.  For one, I barely remember even having them so I really don't know just how terrible they are.

Well, that, plus there's the fact that the older you are when you get the chicken pox, the more dangerous they become.  I don't know of anybody who has died from having chicken pox, but that's not to say that it can't happen.  I imagine it probably has in some cases.

Believe it or not, I've heard of parents planning "chicken pox parties", where if they discover that a child in the neighbourhood has contracted chicken pox, they gather all the neighbourhood children to that child's house for a playdate in hopes that their children will get the pox.  I know what you're saying.  At first glance, it seems like incredibly cruel and inhuman punishment, but given the fact that chicken pox can be dangerous when contracted as an adult, it's probably better that people get it during their formative years. 

Of course, there is one concern that I have now that I have had chicken pox.  There's a potential chance that at some point in my life, I'll develop something called shingles, which is an adult's worst nightmare.  I'm sure you've seen the commercials about the shingles vaccine.  And I know family members who have had shingles.  It's not a pleasant experience, and let's just say that the commercials are a fairly accurate representation of what shingles can do.

Certainly makes me think about it.

Anyway, that's the main event that happened during year number one.  In tomorrow's post...you'll learn how a Sears Portrait Studio made me camera shy.