In A Nutshell LI

In a Nutshell

A place set aside to answer 201 autobiographical questions from a mother for her daughter. This may take awhile...join us if you like.

51. One of my earliest memories about school was:

When I lived with Mama, Aunt Flo, and Forrest in the trailer and went to school, there was child care provided at the school between the time class let out and when working mothers could pick up their children. I think this must have been left over from WWII, since it certainly wasn't still around when I was a working mother.

Anyway, since Mama worked, I was in that child care. I remember considering it just school, but I think there may have been someone other than our regular teacher who took care of us. One day, during nap time, the teacher went around the room, hiding peanuts (in the shells) in nooks and crannies. Since I was unable to sleep that day, I was laying quiet to avoid waking any of the kids who could sleep, and so I watched her do the hiding. After naps, we had a snack, and then she told us what she had done and allowed us to search for the peanuts. I, of course, found an unusually large number of them. When I got home, I told Mama about how many I had found and guessed that I must have been the only one who couldn't sleep. That was when Mama told me that watching the hiding gave me an unfair advantage and was cheating. That didn't seem right to me. After all, it was OK if I got something because I was smarter than other kids. And it was OK if I got it because I was faster or stronger. Why wasn't it OK because I was more alert?