It's Funny NOW. . .

I was reading WordVixen the other day and came across this fun link to Lillie Ammann's challenge, "It's funny NOW, but then. . .

Wow, I thought, that sums up my whole life. I had to do it. But which embarrassing moment to pick? It was a tough choice. Then I realized that there are two that illustrate my personal growth perfectly.

#1 In my senior year of high school, I tried out for cheerleading at the behest of an acquaintance who didn't want to go by herself. Because turn-out was low and I was loud, I became a cheerleader. Though I kept missing practice to go to play rehearsal, I still went to enough that I had the requisite practice "uniform" of men's boxers and a concert t-shirt (I don't know why, it was the '80's). Cheerleading was not really a sport yet, at least not at my school. So we often had practice in the hallway. Naturally, members of real athletic teams came by and watched us on occasion. During one such observation, for reasons known only to him (and probably a few other football players), James Sullivan (Yes, I realize I don't normally use real names, but maybe I'm still a little bitter) came up behind me and yanked on the boxer shorts. They fell right down, as I was a tiny little thing who wore all her clothes too big. James seemed surprised when they actually fell down and seemed almost as mortified as I was. The footballers players watching practice turned away politely, while laughing loudly. I pulled my shorts up and mustered up enough dignity to walk to the girls' room.

#2 After the pantsing incident in high school, I didn't see as much humor in flashing as other people did. I made it through college with underwear only seen by roommates and boyfriends. By the time I was a newly single teacher with a crowd of wild friends, though, flashing undies no longer seemed horrifying. So when I was dared to flash my new bra at a male friend, I took it in stride - especially since I'd had a few shots. He had just gone to the bathroom, so I waited in the alcove outside the restrooms - reassured that no one else could see me. The men's room door opened and I lifted my shirt. Naturally, it wasn't my friend. It was a man possibly older than my father. I pulled down my shirt and mustered up enough dignity to walk to the women's room, while he stared after me in shock.

Do you see the growth? In #2, I chose to embarrass myself instead of letting someone else embarrass me. Isn't that progress?