Kindergarten

Kindergarten: I remember kindergarten. I walked to school with my neighbor a boy named Tobias who was called Tubalub. He was my first kiss. I remember he wore brown corduroy pants and sweater vests that matched. We both did, but my were often red. My hair was cut Mia Farrow in Rosemary's baby short. My mother told me since I would not let her braid my hair she had it cut off. It was cute but psychotic. Everyone in my class had long braided hair. We had cookies for a snack and we each got two. I remember liking them very much. We had pfeffernusse around December which started me on a lifelong obession with the delicious cookies. I learned to tie my shoes. My father and I worked on it one night after dinner. It was tough but my father would not let me give up.

1st grade: Jens and Kyle moved next door to us that year. I loved to play with them. They had a large dog which frightened me. Their mother loved to bake sweets and breads and I often was at their house to sample her efforts. My mother always said she had wanted a daughter so I should be nice to her. She seemed sad. The men of her family often left her alone for days and I kept her company. She was the first woman to teach me to cook (my mother had no patience for children in the kitchen). This was the first house where I had cream cheese on a bagel. I don't think my mother has ever eaten a bagel. We went to a festival and I remember Jens and I eating nuts from a paper cone. We then decided to be wolves and howled walking from the train all the way home. I remember never wanting to return home from their house. I don't remember their father much. I don't think he was around often. I remember my mother saying he drank. ?