Flashback Friday - Oh Canada

I'm on a business trip in Denver. My company is here exhibiting at a conference, and while I have worked several conferences over the years, the last time I exhibited at a conference was the summer of 2003 in Toronto. And the last time I was in Canada before that was when I lived there. So let's talk about Canada.

This is a picture of me when I was three. I loved that dress. We were getting family pictures taken and my mom took Tay and I to the store for new dresses. I had a total prima donna moment when I walked into the girls' section and saw this beauty sparkling on the rack. I begged my mom to let me get it but she said no. This was the first time I remember (at least consciously) the power of a temper tantrum...

A few months later, my mom and dad got a babysitter so they could go to the company Christmas party. I think I hated the babysitter, because I ran upstairs and put this dress on and begged my parents to take me with them. They said no. This was the second time I remember (at least consciously) the power of a temper tantrum. (This was also the time I discovered just how boring corporate schmoozing can be. I spent the entire night asleep in a chair in the hotel lobby.)

The next summer, the dress was too short, but I continued to wear the jacket with everything else I owned. One day, we were sitting outside next to a fountain. I started walking around the edge with my arm stretched out for balance. My mom said no. This was the third time I remember (at least consciously) the power of a temper tantrum. (This was also the time I earned the honorary middle name of "Grace." I started going faster and the next thing I knew I was sputtering to the surface in the middle of the fountain and my beautiful jacket was drenched in highly-chlorinated water.)

That dress and jacket combination saw me through a lot of "Grace" moments:

• My first broken bone. (I fell off the fire pole at the playground and broke my ankle.)
• My first crush. (I ran my brand-new bike into a tree trying to show off for him.)
• My first TWO sets of stitches. (I still have a dent in my head and a bump on my knee as proof.)
• My first marriage. (It ended amicably.)

Fun facts:

• We had an underground storage room in our living room. (It was great for reenacting Daniel and the Lions' Den. And Tom Sawyer. And Nancy Drew. (We were very well read (to).))
• We had AstroTurf instead of grass in our backyard. (We were the Brady Bunch.)
• We went to joy school where I remember learning how to spell "hippopotamus" and eating green eggs and ham on Dr. Seuss' birthday. (This was also where I met my first husband.)