A Secret Place

A Secret Place

 

Growin' up, I'd go out in our back yard to my secret hidin' place. I'd take a blanket to sit on and some of Mamma's Kool-Aid. Skippy, my dog, would come with me. It was somewhere I went to rest and to dream. I felt safe in this place. I felt like I could solve all my troubles there.

 

Then one day, I had a problem that even bein' in my secret place couldn't fix. Stella Delilah was a snooty girl that had just moved in down the street. She was so stuck-up, she'd drown in a rainstorm. She started a girl's club and asked all my friends to join it. For some reason, I couldn't understand why, she didn't ask me. It hurt my feelin's when all my friends chose Stella Delilah over me. She stole 'em away by givin' 'em lace gloves, hats with feathers, flowers, and bows to wear to the fancy tea parties she was always havin'. All of a sudden, my secret place became a lonely place.

 

 

Mamma noticed that my friends had stopped comin' over to play and asked me 'bout it. I told her 'bout Stella Delilah and her fancy girl's club. Mamma said, "Honey, I knew a girl like that when I was growin' up. Her name was Iva Mae. She acted like she was better than me, but it turned out she was bein' like that 'cause she really didn't like herself very much. You'll meet people like that all through your life. And, there'll always be people like your friends who're easily swayed by 'em."

 

 

 

I've met and worked with other Stella Delilah's in my life since then. It's important to know who you are so you can better understand others.