Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Embarrassed (07/19/07)
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TITLE: Pippi . . . If Only | Previous Challenge Entry
By Christy B
07/24/07 -
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This particular door was the entrance to an office, which would be opening soon, so we had two options: wait for someone to come and have them know I was stuck in their mailbox; or hurry and get unstuck, which was not turning out to be a viable alternative. As it happened, the MAILMAN came along before the office occupant arrived. He couldn’t get my arm loose either, but HE thought it was hilarious. My mom, however, was on the verge of tears. Soon, a man with a key to the door came to work and I was free within minutes.
My own memories of this incident are merely faded flashbacks, but my mother was so mortified by it that she never let me forget it. May I remind you, dear reader, that I WAS TWO at the time. At first she and my grandma laughed about it, but my mom used that as her “most embarrassing moment” story for a long, long time. By the time I was seven, it caused me great sorrow that I had done something so profoundly embarrassing that she couldn’t let it go, even years later. This made me more cautious in trusting people, but not necessarily more careful with my hands (I have cut the tip of my right index finger off twice).
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When I was in seventh grade, I braided my own strawberry blonde hair into pigtails every day and then turned them under, tying the ends above my ears with the fat pastel yarn that was popular for hair ties at the time. Being a preteen girl, I liked a certain boy (big surprise). He talked to me every day and nicknamed me “Pippi” because of my braids and my big smile. I forgot to be cautious and allowed myself to think he was a nice boy.
Well, he caught me looking at him one day and got up and made a huge scene in front of the whole class, announcing that “Pippi” had a big crush on him. Everyone laughed. He went on for a while, since he was being so rewarded. Then he jumped down off his chair and yelled in my face, “Just because I talked to you doesn’t mean I like you. Don’t ever look at me again!” I never had the desire to look at him again. A few years later, he was expelled from high school for possession of alcohol. I, on the other hand, graduated 7th in my class.
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Yesterday, my teenage daughter was fussing at me about something and told me to stop talking. I screamed a reprimand at her from the living room for sassing me like that. One second later there was a knock on my front door. This time I had embarrassed myself. I immediately repented. After our visitors left, I admitted to my daughter that I should not have yelled at her like that, but according to the Fifth Commandment, she must treat me with honor and respect at all times.
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This brings me back to Pippi. She was brave and didn’t depend on others for her own self esteem. I still need that example when I’m confronted with things of long ago that embarrassed my mother. Pippi could lead the kids in her village in all kinds of fun adventures. I consciously followed that example throughout my youth, and it ended up making me a great mom. Pippi was very forgiving. She always understood the other person’s feelings. I strive to live that example every day. Pippi also had the utmost admiration for her mariner father and always wanted to please him. I pray that the examples I set for my children will be met with the same regard.
Embarrassment can’t kill us, but if we accept it for the change it can create, it can make us better people. Oh, and Pippi helps, too!
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