Memory Lane Friday - 8th Grade

Before I begin this week's Memory Lane Friday post about Eighth Grade, I'd like to give a big thanks to Lisa at Two Bears Farm. She's been hosting Memory Lane Friday for quite some time now, and it's been something I've looked forward to on a weekly basis. I also want to thank her for inviting me to join in, way back when (my first Memory Lane Friday post being February 27, 2010!!).

Anyway, I just wanted to thank her, since, after this week - and for the time being - she's taking a brief hiatus from hosting Memory Lane Fridays.

Okay, so this week's Memory Lane Friday theme is Eighth Grade. There are a few things I distinctly remember about Eighth Grade.

The big one is that in the spring, just a couple months before I was to graduate from Eighth Grade, I fell off my horse, Chico, while we were jumping, and I broke my collar bone (if you're interested, you can read about the incident here). I remember having to wear this padded support thing around my shoulders, and some girl in my class came up to me (practically getting right up in my face), asking me, "What IS that thing? What's wrong with you?!" When I explained what had happened, she backed off, apologized, and asked if it hurt. Hahaha! What a question. Why, yes! Yes, it does!

Of course, because of this accident, I couldn't go to my 3rd and final summer at Culver's Upper Camps. I was really disappointed by this, but the good thing is that I ended up going there for high school, beginning later that year, in the fall - one of my best experiences! (You can check some of my other Memory Lane Friday posts for a few of my stories from Culver.)

Another thing I remember from Eighth Grade was winning a writing contest! We were supposed to write about something chocolate-themed, and I had this whole elaborate chocolate farm story going. There were brown cows that gave their farmers chocolate milk, as well as chocolate Willy Wonka-inspired streams across the farm land, and other sorts of fantastic, gooey, chocolatey things. The prize? Two one-pound Hershey chocolate bars!! Yum!!

Oh, and this was the year that my family's Finnish au pair, Minna, got me into my first R-rated movie (Beverly Hills Cop).  Now that was fun!

Speaking of our au pair, she and I always had a fun time going on adventures (like going to Beverly Hills Cop). She was usually responsible for getting me to my riding lessons in the afternoon, often taking lessons, herself. I think she even took me to a few horse shows, too.

Horse shows were a lot of fun, and oftentimes, my friend Leslie and I would be at the same shows together. By the time I got to Eighth Grade, we had a tradition going. On the eve of a horse show, one of us would spend the night at the other person's house and clean tack (the saddles and bridles), and polish boots. We would typically watch the movie International Velvet, while preparing our stuff for the next morning. And, of course, we'd try to get to bed at a reasonable time, considering how early we had to get up the next day.

Then we'd get up, get to the show grounds to prepare our horses; then we'd show, show, show. At the end of the day, she and I would head out with her parents to a local pizza joint for a celebratory pizza! So much fun!

This is me at a horse show with Chico. It was not 8th grade (6th, I think?), but it's the best horse show photo I have of myself while showing Chico. Photo ©Rick Bate.

Anyway, those were the big highlights that I can remember from Eighth Grade!

Memory Lane Friday is hosted by Lisa at Two Bears Farm. Please click on the "Memory Lane Friday" button below to read her entry, as well as other contributors' posts: