Childhood

Part of therapy school means constantly analyzing my childhood- fun. This is an excerpt from a childhood autiobiography assignment that I'd like to share here:

In the fifth grade, I was in the Girl Scouts for less than a year. It was the first type of mainstream organization that I have been a part of. But our team was anything but serious participants in this highly esteemed institution. My friends and I were mostly interested in the perks associated with being a part of the Girl Scouts, aka, the free stuff. We went to Great America amusement park for free, we went to Raging Waters water park in the summer for free, and the prestigious Nutcracker ballet, for free. I don’t recall any life lessons learned, or any cookies being sold. We simply reaped the benefits of the Girl Scouts status, and had no shame about it (I guess someone’s mother did not have any shame about it either). I clearly remember the night we went to see the Nutcracker. My dad came along as a chaperone, to my dismay. My friends and I were giggling about being able to see the male dancer’s butt through his tights. We passed around my Dad’s pair of binoculars in order to see it more clearly. He, of course, had no idea why. At intermission, my friends ran to the concession stands. They weren’t buying anything, but they did want something- the sugar cubes. Each of us took at least 5 sugar cubes and returned to our chairs with them in a crumpled napkin. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but my Dad took great offense with the crime. My parents did not allow me to eat excessive amounts of sugar in the form of candy or soda, much the less in the form of a cube. In front of my friends, he immediately chastised me and took the sugar cubes away from me. I was beyond mortified and resentful with my father. This is who he was, the one who restricts my ability to be silly, eat sugar, and do what all the other kids are doing. For the rest of the night, he would experience my anger though the most deadliest of punishments: the silent treatment.