When I was 8 and a half years old my 4th grade teacher Mr. Barnes just so happened to also be my neighbor the year I was in his class. Well, one day my sister Autumn, a girl friend who lived up the alley from us named Channin (who was also a classmate of mine in Mr. Barnes's class), and I were playing outside in my yard. We looked over into the neighbors yard to the left of my house and saw a dead squirrel lying in their yard. Channin said that we should pick up the squirrel and put it on Mr. Barnes's porch (who was the neighbor to the right of my house) and write a note saying "ha ha ha". However, Channin was too chicken to go through with her great idea, and ended up daring me to do the deed. Now, I was the type who would never back down from a dare (even at age 8) and so with a handful of paper towels i grabbed from my house I picked that dead squirrel up by the tail and carried it, along with Channin's hand written "ha ha ha" note over to Mr. Barnes's pourch and laid the dead squirrel and the note with it and then Channin, my sister Autumn and I ran for our lives back into my house.
My mother comes into the livingroom and sees all 3 of us huddled around the front livingroom window looking out and asked what we were doing, and we told her what we had done. Now my mom being who she is and having the type of sense of humor she has actually didn't ground me or anything but instead stood at the window with us watching to see when and if Mr. Barnes would find his surprise! About 10-15 minutes later we see Mr. Barnes come out of his house, walk down the steps of his porch and see the dead squirrel. He looks around trying to see if there is anybody outside that could have possibly done this to him, he then picks up the dead squirrel and carries it across his yard and throws it away in his trash can. Now while all this is happening Channin, my sister, and I are laughing our heads off and my mom was laughing but also telling us we shouldn't have done it and we should not do it again.
Now fast forward to the next day.....I was sitting in class the next day and Mr. Barnes comes to my desk and asks me if I saw who put a dead squirrel on his porch. I looked up at him as innocent as an angel with a halo around my head and said "no i didn't see anything" and he then says "well it must have been some of the teenagers in the neighbor hood." and then he walks back to his desk. While on the inside I'm grinning like the grinch in the cartoon when he comes up with his "awful idea" because I did something that adults only thought teenagers were capable of thinking of, and I was 8!!!! Well Channin didn't sit too far from me and she leans over after hearing what Mr. Barnes asked me and says "I dare you to tell him the truth and tell him it was you!" Of course another dare, and of course I could NOT back down! So I raised my hand and Mr. Barnes calls on me, I look at him and say "Mr. Barnes, I put the dead squirrel on your porch." His eyes popped out of his skull, and he said in such a shocked voice "YOU!? MIRANDA!? YOU DID THAT!? I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!? I was so sure it was one of those teens! I never would have thought you would do that?!" and then he started laughing his head off! And all the kids in the class were just dumbfounded that me "quiet, innocent, little Miranda" would do such a thing! However, if you lived with me and knew me the way my parents and family do you would know my looks were very deceiving and I was always getting into something or coming up with some hair brained idea.
Crazy thing is Mr. Barnes never punished me or scolded me for doing it!!! He thought it was HI-larious. So much so that a few years later when my sister was in his 4th grade class, he stood up in front of the whole class and said pointing at my sister Autumn "would you like to know what her sister did to me when she was in my class a few years ago?" And proceeded to tell his new students about the little blonde girl named Miranda who played one of the best pranks on him EVER!
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| Mr. Barnes and I 25 years after I was in his class! |
This happened 25 years ago!!! And when I saw Mr. Barnes at the 5 Guys Restaurant last Sunday, we both still laughed our heads off about that dead squirrel. Now, I just wonder if come Monday if he told that story again to his current students at the school he is teaching at? I want to believe he did, because honestly that is a great story that should be shared with all in my opinion hahahahaha!
So after eating our lunch at 5 Guys Burgers. Jeremy, Mom and I headed to the Mall. Mom and I watched a special 50th anniversary screening of "The Sound Of Music" and Jeremy being the manly man he is went and saw a movie he could enjoy since he is really not into romance musicals. It was so awesome to see the movie on the big screen like it was 50 years ago. Especially the wedding scene in the cathedral Oh my goodness I felt like I was literally in that big beautiful church. The Details of the carvings and designs were breath taking. It's so great to have these experiences with my mom because she and I have always been movie buddies and now getting to see "The Wizard Of Oz" Gone With the Wind" and "The Sound Of Music" in theaters in less than a year has been an amazing time. And memories I will cherish forever.
By the time the day was over and we all got back to my mom's and then Jeremy and I drove home. My body was screaming in pain and I was bed ridden the rest of the night and for 2 straight days I was sick as a dog with the crohn's and also a Bladder infection (i get these every so often since i got crohn's for some reason more than likely due to the dehydration from the diarrhea) but it was worth it to have these memories. The bladder infection is gone thanks to meds and the crohn's pain has stayed at bay all week until today.
The only thing i was sad about last Sunday, was when Mr. Barnes and I were talking he asked me what I have been up to all these years. I looked at him and said, "that is kinda a sad story" and when I shared with him about my fight with crohn's it was like I could literally see his heart break for me. He hugged me and told me he was sorry, and I told him that today was a good day and I was enjoying it to the fullest and he was happy to see me so upbeat and positive in the face of such adversity. But really when I see the sadness that fills peoples eyes when i tell them of what life has dealt me, I wish i could take that pain from them, because I'm so use to the pain it's as if I'm nearly immune to it now. But those who love me and care for me even after all these years it is so hard on them.
Sometimes I really hesitate in my mind whether to tell my story to those who I have not seen in many years and only remember me as the healthy, fearless, and head strong girl they knew years ago. And then I think "yes tell them" because the more people know about Crohn's the more awareness I can bring to my struggle and the 1.4 other million americans just like myself. No I may not have gone to college, no I may not be able to hold down a job and am now disabled for the rest of my life, no I may never have children, but I am still Miranda, I am still fearless and head strong, I am a musician, an artist, a loving wife, a loving friend, and I have a servants heart to help others and help inspire others through my testimony and the Love of Jesus Christ. I may not look like much to the world when it comes to accomplishments and money. But Jesus thinks I'm to die for and that's all that really matters.
I have come to terms with this disease, and I accept that this is my life until there is a cure found or I die. I am determined to make the best of every day I am giving whether good or bad happy or sad, as long as I'm still on this earth there is work for me to do for the Lord and there is still work for me to do and I will share my testimony and my talents until he takes me home to heaven.
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