I Survived

My kids love to hear stories about when I was growing up in Alaska...long ago. When I'd put the boys to bed at night, they'd all say, "Just tell us about when you were little like us". So, I'd think back and remember the good old days on Rabbit Creek Road. My mind remembers the details like they were just yesterday.

I lived off of R.C. Road-on Bay View Drive. My dad built a house on the first right, after the mail-boxes. I was in the first grade at North Star Elem.-and we had been living with my Grandma G. (in her duplex downtown). We had four kids at home-I was the eldest (age 7), then my sister was next, and my two baby brothers. My mom signed me up for a new school-Rabbit Creek Elementary. My teacher was Miss Bell and most of the kids that were in THAT very class...I would one day graduate from highschool with. We lived on that road and I attended that school for years and years. Lots happened during my childhood to make me the person that I am today. Here is one of the stories I love to tell...

One of my earliest memories was going to lunch at my mom's friends house. I think my sister attended her preschool there. We stopped there for lunch time, and we had a fabulous time cutting shapes out of Kraft
cheese squares for our sandwiches. After lunch...we went on a hike in the woods for berries

with her son and daughter. The mom's stayed inside to watch the babies, and we all had bags to bring our blueberries home in. We saw a fallen tree with lots of berries underneath it...so I ran over to pick them. My little sister was sitting on

top of the broken tree, and then I remember a loud deep noise. I noticed that it seemed darker around me and my new friends were yelling, "Run to the house! Run-Run-Run!!". I felt stinging things crawling all over me-and the next thing I knew...my

little legs were taking me down the hill to the left-and I could see a driveway. I heard someone screaming...and realized it was ME!!!. I saw my mom come out of the friends house with a broom and she grabbed the water-hose. She sprayed me down with cold water...and wrapped me in towel. I looked down on the ground and could see hundreds of hornets laying there dead. The ones in my hair kept stinging me till they died, and my mom had gloves on to pull them off of me. I was shaking, scared and crying. My mom then left me to find my little sister. She had been stung on the lip and her whole face was swollen. My dad came and he took us to the hospital for Benedryl. The nurses told us that my sister was lucky to be alive-she was allergic to bee-stings. (I can remember thinking, "Don't ya' think that I'M LUCKY to have survived being stung by hundreds of bees-and still be alive too??). It was a very traumatic time for a little seven year old and a five year old sister.

*I don't think anyone intentionally steps on a bees-nest.
(But...what did I learn from the whole event?)

-Look carefully at your surroundings when hiking in the woods
-Especially look down where your walking:)
-Animals and insects live in those deep dark woods!
-Bees do not like to be stepped on...just like humans.