MAYPOLE DANCE

By Deana Landers www.morningcoffeebeans.com

Myfirst year in middle school was challenging. I had already attended three different schools by the time I was in the eighth grade. Please don’t ask me why, that’s another story.

I had to walk to the bus stop a block from my house. There were other kids there, but I always stood alone. I didn’t know anyone, and everyone there knew each other. They weren’t mean or unfriendly; they were comfortable with each other. When I got to school, I went from class to class, but I don’t remember making real friends. There were a group of boys who noticed me, though. They picked on me when I was outside on the playground. I was new, shy, and defensive. Sometimes when they were picking on me, I used some of the cuss words I had learned from my four brothers. It made me feel stronger and less vulnerable.

I was only there for a year. The big event that year was the maypole dance. I was so nervous. I felt clumsy when we practiced and knew I would be out of place. But a few days before the dance, my oldest sister came to the house and brought me a beautiful yellow dress with white sandals to match. I was overwhelmed. I had only had one bought dress when I was six years old. My mother always made my dresses.

I was beyond excited the morning I dressed and went to school, knowing my big sister and mom would be there watching me in the maypole dance. It was a beautiful event. I didn’t miss any of my steps and felt as light as a feather. When it was all over and my sister and mom left, I started to walk back up the hill alone to our school.

One of the boys who always made fun of me and tormented me appeared out of nowhere. When he said hi, I went into defensive mode. He didn’t respond. He just said I looked very pretty.

I didn’t know what to say, so I asked, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

He said, “I’m sorry. We only pick on you to hear you use bad words. You are so cute when you get mad.”

I never cussed again.

Two years later, I went to high school after my mom died. I was quiet and reserved there too. I never felt as smart as the other students. I didn’t take college prep classes because I couldn’t imagine that I would ever go to college, but I made friends and made good grades.

However, the good news is I received a scholarship to go to nursing school after graduating from high school.

Many years later, when the internet connected us all, I received an email from one of the boys who picked on me in middle school. He wanted to tell me he was sorry and recounted many moments when I stood alone when they were picking on me. We planned a time for our families to meet, and it was a wonderful time for us all.

We had grown up and stopped acting like children, and he wanted to make amends for a memory that he was not proud of, and I was so grateful.