The Most Trouble I Was Ever In As A Child

video recorder

When I was 12, my mother graduated from nursing school. She had gone to the technical college near our home for the past 2 years. Despite our family having an Italian restaurant to run, my father did real estate on his days off and 3 daughters, somehow she passed. She was so proud of her accomplishment that she insisted we take out our state-of-the-art camcorder that was the size of a generator, and record her graduation and graduation party.

The next day, my parents were going out on a date. My grandparents were staying with us since they had just watched their daughter accept her diploma the day before. Before they left, I insisted I record our home. Why? Because I had just returned from Space Camp (I clearly oozed coolness as a tweener) and now had 15+ pen pals to share my world with. I was even going to Peoria, Illinois to visit one of these pen pals later that summer. I thought since she couldn’t come to my house, I would video tape it and bring it along with me.

“DO NOT touch the camcorder. You don’t know how to work it yet.,” my mother warned me. Little did she know I had A LOT of experience with the camcorder. I was pretty much on my own most of my childhood, watching my sisters all the time, and had used the camcorder on more than one occasion.

The minute she left, I turned to my grandmother, whom could watch me kill another human being and justify my actions, and said, “I’m going to video tape my house for my pen pal. Don’t tell mom.”

“Honey, are you sure you should be doing that?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to do it for like 10 minutes and be done. She’ll never know.”

I knew I could count on her to let me do this. A year before, at her house, my middle sister and I played beauty shop. I began to cut G’s bangs in the dining room. When I felt they were too crooked, I cut them more….and more….and more; till she looked like a back-up singer of Flock of Seagulls.

flock of seagulls

“Listen up Perthena.” I called her by her name when I meant business. “This,” I waved my hand around, next to my now crying sister, “never happened. If they ask you what happened, just tell them you took her to the beauty shop and they really messed up.”

She snitched though. She said she didn’t and eventually my mom got the truth out of her but it’s suspicious.

So back to the camcorder story. I grabbed a VCR tape off the top of the tv. I popped it into the camcorder and off I went, video taping my 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath childhood home. It all went very fast and when I was finished I quickly took it out and pushed it into the VCR, to watch my handy work.

Just then, and only for a second, I saw my mom walk up the stairs of the stage to receive her diploma. Then the video cut to my living room as I began my house tour.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Tell me I didn’t do this! Dear God, I am going to get killed!” I said out loud. My knees became weak and the thump of my heart could be heard a mile away. My mom’s temper was on par with Joan Crawford.

Not only did I disobey my mother, but I had video taped over her graduation! She hadn’t even see the tape yet!!!

I honestly can’t remember how or if I even told her what had happened but she immediately found out. All I know is she didn’t talk to me for 2 weeks and I was grounded for a good chunk of my 12th year. I blame it on the snitch.

So folks, tell me about the time you were in the most trouble of your life as a child! I can’t wait to hear these stories!!!!

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