Pt3- Never Have I Ever? Hold My Coffee!

I know; I talk about how fantastic my neighborhood was and all the kids in it. But to be fair, it was. So, you'll have to get over your neighborhood envy.

Being a teen in the mid-eighties was a lot like the Breakfast Club. There is a reason it still resonates with people today. My neighborhood had all the stereotypes. For more than a few of us, we fit into more than one category; for some, we had a touch of all of them.

What I liked most about our neighborhood was that no matter what category we placed ourselves into, we were accepted for who we were. If you bullied one of us, you bullied all of us. Like siblings, we could punch each other in the face, but God help the outsider who did. It didn't matter who instigated it or if we deserved it; we had each other's backs no matter what. We all had our share of fights.

I was a brain with a little bit of princess, a little bit of criminal, and a dash of kooky. At 15 years old, I was very thin. I appeared too thin, genetics. As you all know, kids are mean, especially teenage girls. I can say that. I was one. I remember one time quite vividly when I was subject to teen girl meanness. Have I ever been on the receiving end of a bully?

It was at the high school; we were all outside during lunch. I had already been called names during Algebra 2 (i.e., toothpick, stick figure, you get the point.) I had thick skin. I grew up with three of my siblings, all boys, and we said far worse to each other daily. But at this point, one of the girls had taken it up a notch and decided to make it physical.

I was going inside, and she was sitting against the wall with some cool kids—a few in my neighborhood and a couple of years older. She slammed the door on my leg, not a punch, but it wasn't pleasant. I was not used to it outside of my siblings or the occasional disagreement with one of the neighborhood kids. I usually got along with most people. This I didn't see coming. I had never even spoken to this girl.

I watched as if in slow motion, as one of the neighborhood kids stood up, shoved that girl across the courtyard, and then sat back down against the wall. It was a "Hold my Coffee" moment. I looked over in shock. I received a slight nod, a smirk, and a wink. Let me tell you. That never happened to me again.

It was one hundred percent that comradery of growing up together and being part of the best group of people that we got to call neighbors. That is just one example of why I loved my neighborhood so much and the people in it.

If you asked that neighbor if they remember that day, they probably don't. It was the kind of thing we all did for one another. But, when you are on the receiving end of that kind of support, it's those things that stick with you. So, thank you.