I do not exactly remember the occasion--I suppose it was some Son of kindergarten career day. I do not remember the activities of the day, the games we played, the stories we heard, whether or not anyone came to speak to the class. What I do remember is what we all took home at the end of the day. The little boys were given doctors' hats; we girls got nurses' hats. For some reason--again, I do not remember why--l wanted a doctors' hat, but was informed I could not have one because I was a girl and we were to get nurses' hats. I do not think that I had any particular desire to be a doctor; perhaps I just wanted the doctors' hat because someone told me I couldn't have it. Or perhaps I just liked it better. Whatever the reason, I came home that day frustrated because I had to keep the nurse hat.

I probably would not remember this incident at all were it not for my mother's reaction to it. It is the first time I can remember seeing her truly angry. At first I was afraid that I had done something wrong; her wrath was so great. But I soon realized that I was not the person in trouble. She was on the phone with teachers, school secretaries, the principal, the president of

   
the PTA; and she threatened to be on the phone with the school board, the county commissioners, and countless others. In all honesty, I do not know what eventually happened: I don't remember whether I ever got my doctors' hat or whether the school promised to let kids choose their hats in the future. What I do know is that when I was told there was something i could not do because I was a girl, there was a strong woman who insisted that I could do anything. Not a bad lesson for a five year old girl to learn.

At the same time that she was wrestling with school boards, my mother was living the life of the perfect housewife. She doted upon her two children and husband. Our house was well kept; I went to school every day having eaten a good breakfast and with a perfectly packed lunch. She was always baking things. When I would go over to a friend's house and have a sandwich on store bought bread, I thought it was something strange and exotic because all we ate at my house was home-made. We even had home-made hot dog and hamburger buns. Once my younger brother entered school, Mom got bored and

 
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