I should have known Stacy was going to be trouble the day I watched in horror as she sprinkled sugar onto her bowl of macaroni and cheese. Anyone with that much of a sweet tooth should not have been allowed within fifty feet of one’s sugar collection.I've moved to Substack. To finish reading this personal essay, click here.
This was a really great piece of writing, Laura!
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the sugar packets that way, but I love that you had a collection like that. I had collections in my day and I would make up stories just like you described.
Thanks for the excellent read that started my day! Happy weekend!
I'd love to hear about your collections sometime!
DeleteLaura this was beautiful and I absolutely resonated with it! My parents also had friends whose children I abhorred but was forced to play with. I can remember the feeling as they ripped through precious toys, taunting and cruel. Your story brought that back yes but also reminded me the simple joys we had. The joys of a small collection of seemingly nothing. The joys of sitting for hours with our things, our precious treasures. Lovely-really brightened my day!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I humbly and profusely apologize for these and any parenting sins I may have committed. Next, I remember discovering this desecration and my heart breaking with you and for you. You were an extraordinary curator who did not deserve the carnage!
DeleteA hitch in my heart as I read this even after all these years.
I loved my collections! Whenever I met a new friend, I always asked them what they collected!
DeleteWhat a lovely story - I can feel your childhood heartbreak over the destruction of your beautiful sugar packets. I love the asterisks at the bottom! And how fun to see your Pinterest board of lovely packets!
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me know you liked all the footnotes. I didn't know if they would be well-received. I'm glad you enjoyed them as the little extras I meant them to be!
DeleteNicely done. I can picture the whole thing. Now I wonder...whatever happened to Stacy?
ReplyDeleteWell, I have another story about her that was VERY exciting. I may need to share that next. It's funny-I never considered her a huge part of my childhood, but she sure is proving to be inspiration for my writing.
DeleteOh goodness, I remember this feeling EXACTLY as I had a "friendship" like this as a teenager and it was awful. Great writing Laura.
ReplyDeleteIt seems a lot of people were pushed into friendships they didn't want to be in! Thanks for your kind words about my writing. I've really been working to improve as a writer and it's always nice to hear the work is paying off.
DeleteI loved reading this and gasped when Stacy committed such delinquency. I would've had a mental breakdown right then and there, lol!
ReplyDeleteEver since 8-year-old me felt betrayed after catching her friends playing with her beloved My Little Pony collection (with their dirty and chalk-stained hands from playing outside all day), I became stingier than Stingy from Lazy Town himself.
I know it doesn't compare to actually losing the sugar packets, but the heartbreak felt just the same; I still hate when people take my stuff without permission ðŸ˜.
p.d: I love your writing! <3
Oh my goodness! Your poor Little Ponies! And thank you for the kind words about my writing!
DeleteI hadn’t realized sugar packet art was a thing. Sorry your collection was treated that way.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's funny to think back on all the playdates I had with kids I didn't like, simply because our parents wanted to get together. And you're so right- now it's the opposite. I have all sorts of adult "friends" that I wouldn't normally get together with if it weren't for the fact that our kids want to play together. Hmm! Anyway... you poor thing! Your little girl self must have been so devastated. You're irreplaceable collection was just a bunch of sugar to Stacy- she probably didn't even notice the different pictures on the packets. I'm looking forward to the next Stacy story!
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