Things I learned from Barbara
Barbara liked to teach me things. My dad says she 
potty trained me, but I should probably ask my mom to confirm that story. I do remember the time she brought me into her bedroom where she had gently laid a pair of underwear on her bed. She told me that she thought she had her period. She continued by telling me it wasn’t like the period at the end of a sentence. She then pointed to the underwear. There on the top of her panties was a little red fuzz ball. You could barely see it. Later she told me that she discovered that she hadn’t had her period because the fuzz ball had moved.
Another time she brought me into the bathroom and demonstrated how to shave my legs. I gave it a try after she left by shaving one line along the front of my leg. I decided that I wasn’t interested in shaving and put the razor away without shaving the rest of my leg. A short while later we were in 
Tennessee and Barbara noticed a short patch of hair on my leg. She teased me mercilessly, but promised she’d stop if I’d just admit that I had tried to shave. I refused to admit it and eventually she gave up.
The summer before I was to enter Jr. High my sister approached me about my handwriting. She told me that if I was to be “popular,” I’d need to work on my handwriting. She gave me a paper with a list of samples of “popular†handwriting and advised me to learn one of them. I don’t know how long I spent practicing, but I do remember working on one or two of them.
The last lesson I can remember is when I was taking my first French class in high school. We both had Mrs. Hamp as our French teacher. She told us that we could get extra credit by learning a sentence in French and then telling her. Barbara taught me two sentences which supposedly meant “I am Kathleen. I am smart†what they really meant was “I am Kathleen, I am silly.†Mrs. Hamp laughed when I told her I was silly and taught me how to call Barbara a “pighead†in French.
I remember that fuzz ball. I think it was on a Sunday. Tara Runion (downstairs tenant) had introduced me to the idea of menstruation and I was watching my undies like a hawk for signs of red. I was so disappointed to figure out that was only a fuzz ball.
I remember when I started getting boobs (the pointly little mosquito bite ones). I thought I had cancer. I can’t remember how I figured out it wasn’t cancer, but I remember being seriously worried for my life. Good think we were all there to help Katharoni through her transition to womanhood- remember the neighbor Mrs Schank- I don’t remember when it was (was it after our house fire?) who said “Kathy, you’ve got boobs!)?
I don’t remember the handwriting lessons… The only memory I have about handwriting is from the second grade- we were at Tennessee grandma’s house and she went on and on about how nice cousin Lindsay’s handwriting was. I then spent several hours of frustration trying to match her handwriting. I think handwriting became a sore spot with me, I must have blamed all my troubles on it. I remember studying the popular girls’ handwriting and thinking it was somehow the key.
I’m sorry if I was mean and bossy…oldest sister syndrome, or just my personality, who knows, but I liked you. I was just trying to play.
lol, I never knew you thought you had cancer. The comment from Mrs. Shank was right after the fire and it was awfully nice of her to say that in front of the whole family so they could all tease me mercilessly.
Also, I didn’t mean to make it sound like you were a mean sister. I always thought the fuzz ball and shaving stories were funny and then the only other stories I could remember that were relevant were the french story and the handwriting story.
No worries, I don’t think you made me sound mean, I just hope I wasn’t terribly mean. They are all good stories. I’d love to hear any stories you might have about “Barbara’s Anything Shop”
I’m not sure about “Barbara’s Anything Shop” but I do remember trying to sell drawings Erin and I did.
I can remember buying stuff from barbara’s anything shop! I know i bought a barbie outfit. lol
I remember having different rates for renting barbies and making paper airplanes for sale.
I was a young entrepreneur! or just taking advantage of the younger kids!