Show and Tell

The kids had been excited for two weeks--their assigned show-and-tell day was Friday!  In preschool and even kindergarten, show and tell was more informal, whenever they had something they wanted to talk about  (like sticks actually chewed on by beavers, or a map of the exhibition of fairy houses at a museum we visited); first grade is more formal, with assigned days every now and again.  Having listened to classmates share critters, jewelry, toys, and the like, they planned and plotted about what they would  take, what they would say.  Bud chose his kung fu trophy, after considering and  deciding against Mr. Big, his giant penguin.  Sis picked Amy the Bunny instead of Shirt, not wanting to risk losing or  getting more holes in him (yes, it's a him).  She even researched Amy, asking us where she'd come from, how long we'd had her, how she got  her.  She relayed this to the class, "I've had Amy the Bunny since before I was born!"  I'm not really sure what else she said, or what Bud mentioned.  I think he talked about how he was the first kid in his class to win a trophy, it being for the white-belt forms.  Sis was nervous beforehand about talking before the other kids and also having to keep her beloved bunny in the coat closet all day.  Bud was very careful to carry his trophy in a box and not to drop or misplace it.  Everything went well and both special items came home safely.  

In fact, I had been as excited as they were about their first official show and tell.  I loved show and tell.  I couldn't tell you what I took (though in senior English, we made memory boxes with lots of items and presented them;  scheduled for 10 minutes each, we all took 30+ minutes, so serious and self-involved were we as 18 year olds!  I think the pink-cat-paper-wrapped box is still in Gommie's cedear chest.), but I remember how special sharing something of myself with my classmates and teacher was.  Then it occurred to me:  this blog is my adult show and tell, fulfilling my desire to express and share about myself and my life.  Sincere.  Narcissistic.  Personal.  Quirky.  I guess I never outgrew the rush of expressing myself.  Do we ever?  But modern social media perhaps provides more venues for such indulgence than ever before.  I wonder about the meanings and repercussions of that . . obvious for 6 year olds, and probably the same for 40 year olds!

Which explains why I almost went to watch them give their first presentations!