Let's ignore the current tantrums that I've thrown. That's for another blog. Here's a list of some things I lost it over as an over-sensitive western PA youth. See if any of these relate to your childhood experiences.
1)A Wendy's burger with pickles, tomato and ketchup on it.
I liked my burgers relatively plain, I still do for the most part. My grandpa ordered me and brother hamburgers with everything on them. He thought he was doing us a favor. We freaked out. Literally. It was traumatic for everyone involved and we were rightly accused of being spoiled. This was probably around 5 or 6 years old.
2)My Hair
I was in kindergarten or 1st grade. You had to look good. The pressure was always. My hair wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. My mother tried helping me comb it. I got mad at her too. That combined with being late for school gave me serious anxiety. I ended up toughing out a bad hair day and probably forget about it as soon as I entered the school.
3)My first movie, Popeye
I was a Popeye nut. My dad used to tease me about it, and bro and sis stuck spinach in a hamburger of mine to mess with me. The movie was coming out and I had to see it. As we were getting ready I was hit with a serious panic attack as I had no idea what a movie was like. I was nervous, I thought the characters of the movie might walk into the crowd and meet me. I didn't want any part of it. Eventually with some slight encouragement and arm twisting, I made it. I all worked out okay.
4)Canned Green Beans
My greatest fear as a child where green beans from the can. They were a horrible texture and tasted awful. When they were served for dinner there was always a question of whether I'd be forced to eat them. They literally made me gag. I would sit at the table for hours. There were a few tantrums thrown over this situation. My dad had little patience for it.
5)Sleeping
By the time we entered grade school, there were bedtimes. I'd often have trouble falling asleep cause of anxiety and fear of not falling asleep. It got to the point where I'd stare at the red digital clock radio probably every 5 minutes. There were times when I just couldn't sleep and I'd be so frustrated I'd throw a tantrum. I've since learned to enjoy the night, and being tired in the morning isn't the end of the world.
6)Skating Party
I threw a tantrum at a school skating party cause all the kids were having fun and I was afraid to skate. I sat and cried most of the night. People asking me what was wrong made it all worse. The weird thing is, the skating party the year before, I had a good time going around. I guess it had to do with the vibe. Gawd I was a miserable child.
7)Getting Stung by a Hornet.
I was probably 4 or 5, enjoying a can or bottle of root beer, sitting on my dad's old wrecked Plymouth Fury(i think). My first encounter with the evils of nature. I got stung near the eye and ended up running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. I was breathing heavily and freaking out. My mother called a hospital for help and made some weird baking soda concoction. I survived.
8)Swallowing Soap.
I was getting a bath around age 4 or 5 and it was bubble bath, and I swallowed soap. I freaked. I thought I was gonna die, I literally ran around the house buck naked like a crazy man. I think it was the taste of soap that wouldn't go away that made me lose it.
9)My first detention.
The idea of a detention in school seemed to be quite serious. Like the biggest thing ever. In reality, while my father (he was the one you feared) wanted good grades, I never saw him get upset over these detentions - which like these unspoken things in our household. What was really the big deal, an hour, or half after school. Not the end of the world. Anyway, I got written up for missing an assignment, and I started crying like a baby. I obviously didn't appear as tough as I thought I was, or pretended to be. It's funny how a silly punishment can totally change a boy's vibe.
10)Basketball Practice - suicides
I maintain making the basketball team in 4th was hardest thing I've worked at or tried for in my life. Really. No joke. Lots of my friends got cut, I made it(this was pre-leg problems). During a weeknight practice, we were asked, or forced to do suicides...Or sprints (length of the court). Maybe like five or six times in a row running as fast as we could. This was before I had limits. This was before I was lazy. I really hustled my ass out there.
After the last sprint we were called into a circle and I was hyperventilating. I couldn't stop. This was like minutes, it seemed like an eternity. This led to panic. It made me think I had asthma. My throat was dry and I thought I was gonna die.
A heavy breathing/hyperventilating tantrum occurred. I had to be taken aside and walked into the locker room by the assistant coach. Eventually, everything subsided, I was able to calm down. I think I left practice early that day.
11)First Little League Loss
I was used to winning on the Sacred Heart Colts. My first real taste of team sports. When we were served our very first loss of the season, I broke down and cried, like a baby. Not sure why. I didn't care about T-ball that much, a year before. This was somehow different. Everybody needs to lose at something. It builds character.
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