Eight Years as DN3

Eight years ago today I decided to share this messy file cabinet full of stuff I'd accumulated or seen in the world. I've added 3,072 posts since then. If you'd told me that eight years ago, I probably wouldn't have believed it was possible.

Here's what DN3 looked like at age 8:


That was third grade, mostly in the year 1968. It amazes me how little of that year's important events I remember with any clarity. Assassinations, riots, police brutality. I was a happy, sheltered kid, working on the 1–5 times tables, memorizing the continents, making papier mache Easter eggs using a balloon as a form. And I was in Brownies, as my school photo shows.

I missed 26 days of school, which is rather a lot -- 13 in the second quarter and 10 in the fourth. I know I was out with gastroenteritis and a long bout of bronchitis. Lots of Bs on my report card, with a few Ss in Citizenship Education (see, I got an early start!) and Science, Health and Safety. Occasional general minus marks for arithmetic, being a good listener, and obeying cheerfully.

Oh, and during one of the quarters when I was absent a lot I got a minus for reading because I wasn't doing enough independent reading. Must have been watching a lot of television instead. I didn't start reading for pleasure until fifth grade, as I recall, even though I always read at grade level. I think I resisted because DN1 and DN2 were big readers, and I was trying to find my niche.

Past anniversary posts, each with age-appropriate photographic evidence:

• First
• Second
• Third
• Fourth 
• Fifth 
• Sixth 
• Seventh