Recently I had the pleasure of viewing the scrapbook of a mutual friend that outlined special moments of their family. All these wonderful memories neatly wrapped up in one location, waiting to be relived at any waking moment.
Of course, this was making my zip lock bag scrapbook of sorts, look shabby. Hey, it’s not like I haven’t thought about organizing them beyond the zip lock bag, but I haven’t come up with a good reason to rush that process.
Thinking about all the effort of that scrapbook had me wondering…..everyone looked so happy and perfect as they were enjoying their vacations and milestones. These are the moments that were chosen to be frozen in time, and beautifully displayed on each page of this scrapbook. But…..
What about those other moments? You know the ones that we can’t seem to forget because they are etched in the permanent scrapbook in our heads.
Those special times that you swore if you could die from embarrassment you would, but somehow you survived; leaving you with the added glory of not only remembering, but having all the witnesses remind you for…well….the rest of your LIFE. Yes…those memories.
Well, I have one that would most likely make me an overnight You Tube sensation..ah, the fame and fortune I missed out on by being born in the wrong era…Damit!
It was Summer and I was 19-years old. One weekend at the NJ Shore in a bikini left me burnt to the point of being physically sick.
FYI: this is prior to the sun being a lethal weapon and warnings about using baby oil as a tanning agent.
Fast forward 2 weeks into the skin shedding period. A huge crowd of friends had made plans to go to a dance club called Rocky’s…as in Balboa. The 19-year-old me was carefree and some burns and skin shedding wasn’t going to stop me from some fun!
Now, up until this point I still could not wear my own underwear due to the burn. In the 80’s I didn’t have Britney Spears to teach me that “going commando” was acceptable for a woman in a mini dress, so I wore my mother’s underwear.
Victoria Secret wasn’t in our face yet either, so mother’s in the 80’s did not wear sexy underwear, not that their children knew about anyway. They wore respectable age appropriate underwear, that could have been mistaken for an adult onesie on me at the time.
The 19-year-old me put on her underwear/onsie, white mini skirt, pink top and headed to the club. The dance floor was actually a boxing ring that was elevated above the seating. We were drinking, laughing, dancing and having a great time. The DJ played the Sister Sledge hit “We Are Family” which lead my friend Bob to join us on the dance floor. He put his hand around my waist to form a chorus line, for reasons unknown other than the alcohol consumption.
When he did this, he pulled my skirt and it not only came off, it was flying across the room in SLOW MOTION.
I suddenly became the star of an instant replay clip! The laughing faces, my sister’s drink coming out of her mouth and all those pointing fingers. I wasn’t snapped back to reality until the music stopped and I heard … “Will the girl on the dance floor in her ………………underwear?... PLEASE get dressed.” Yea…..no real need for fancy borders and cute sayings to remember this moment.
One thing I learned through this memory is that I really could take a lesson from the 19-year old me. She would tell me “don’t let minor obstacles stop you from doing what you want to do, it will prevent you from creating memories that will last a lifetime.”
Whether your memories are neatly stored onto the pages of a scrapbook, or etched in your head, they are reminders. They are there to teach us lessons, bring us happiness and remind us of how much we’ve grown…not just on the outside, but the inside as well. I’ve come a long way since my public underwear exposure and I survived. Hey, a little embarrassment is good for the soul!
Now it’s time for me to wrangle up some of that carefree attitude of yesteryears, within reason of course, and… Enjoy The Ride!
Life With The Top Down 
I feel your pain and am happy that you can laugh at this now.
My similar story was on my wedding day. We had come to the part were the bride & groom have changed into their “going away” outfits (do they still do that?). As we said goodbye and thank you to everyone they hoisted us up on their shoulders and formed a circle around us. When they set me down in the center of the circle my skirt had disappeared and there I stood in my undies. My new husband did not get any surprises that night but the guests sure did! Oh, did I mention that it was a wedding? That meant everyone had a camera!
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For god sakes…I’ve waited 28 years to hear the words “I have a similar story”…please tell me someone captured that on film.
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“Someone” didn’t. Pretty much everyone did. Including the photographer hired for the day. I’m glad your wait is over. 😉
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Hahahahaha! Sorry, but that is just hilarious.
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Great story, tops. Wish you hadn’t posted that picture of MY underwear, though!
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Hahahahaha! Well, the pair in the picture are MUCH nicer than the pair worn…so your good.
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Hey nothing like a good pair of “Granny Panties” . Nothing beats the comfort and well, they style, what can I say? Love, love, love this post, am laughing still!!! At my mother’s funeral (I was 11), I had an aunt, a bit eccentric, she drove an ambulance in WWI. As she was walking down the aisle after the funeral, her underwear fell down, she just walked out of them and left them laying on the church floor!! Now, that’s really going commando! Great post. We all have our little stories, but this one was hilarious! Thanks for the laugh!
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Now I am laughing! You loose your mother at 11, as if that is not tragic enough, you had to see the aunt go commando. Something tells me your mom might have had in hand in that from above… I am cracking up and secretly wishing i was there for that scene.
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she probably did, her sense of humor is legendary!
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I don’t have a story to match that….OMG 😉 I am a digi scrapper and have no intentions of NOT scrapping some of those moments….tweenie rant and not talking to mom pic…etc etc…thank you for the smile this am 🙂
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You are very welcome.
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I love, love, love a good funny story like this one. Thanks for sharing and may we all have a good underwear story to tell in our old age.
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Amen to that!
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Sorta late to party….but TAG you are it! Please stop by my blog….you don’t want to be it forever….and this is not freeze tag! 🙂
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Look at you breaking rules…I like you all ready! Your questions are great and I look forward to pondering on some answers. Thanks for the Tag!
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What a well written funny story. I love the white underwear shot. We call those Lollipops where I come from.
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You really made me laugh on this one. I have nothing that comes close! Good thing I wasn’t drinking or it would have come out of my nose!
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Oh-my-God.. I would have literally fainted dead away on the dance floor.. LOL.. Oh yes we all have moments from yesterday we just hope and pray no has a video or pics of..
(got me thinking now..)
what a hilarious post (sorry, it is rather funny 🙂
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That was such a great story!! LOVED it! ;D
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You don’t have to put that memory in a zip lock bag for it to last. I remember back in the day, folks used baby oil and iodine to get that rarified tan. Craziness!
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Happy smiley faces are fine for scrapbooks. But it’s the memories like this that are great blog topics! Hurray for our embarrassments!
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Love this story. Bridget Jones would be proud! Sort of reminds me about that saying about mother’s, clean underwear and accidents. Also I take much comfort in your filing system 🙂
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This was too funny! Great retelling of it, too. I know it’s hard to believe, but I don’t think I have any stories to tell that are even half that funny.
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Loved this story. I have a podcast which goes along with my blog, also called Does This Happen to You. I’d love to narrate this story on my podcast. I give you full credit as author and put a link to your blog on my podcast page. Let me know if this works for you.
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Wow! This is quite an honor..you certainly can use it. I hope everyone enjoys it.
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That’s great, Tops! Congratulations.
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Here it is on my podbean site, http://kriskkaria.podbean.com/. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed narrating it.
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I love it! Thank you for doing such a wonderful job..I am truly honored that you chose this story to narrate.
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I’m so happy you liked it!
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Nice! And look at the bright side, at least you didn’t go commando that night…
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Honestly, I’m not sure what would be worse…lol
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Like is just not strong enough -this made me bust out laughing! Thanks so much for sharing! And I love that you are looking to your 18 year old self for life lessons. She seems very wise. 🙂 Thanks for the laugh!!
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Thanks! I still laugh at it…as do my friends.
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Think of what would have happened if you would have been aware of Ms. Spears naked habits! Ooooooooooh! GeeeeeeeeeZ! That would have been really a memory to try to erase! But whitey tighties? Just like a big swimsuit! Hilarious!
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Susie sent me but that is not what I wish to say. I wish to say that this is a great post. We all have an underwear story and here is mine, how I was embarrased, how several people including a priest and two wordpress bloggers talked me into doing things I should never have considered. But this post is my life – – – all wrapped up in a few paragraphs. SORRY!
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Thank you for stopping by. Where do I even begin with your post… I would love to be a fly on the wall at that intervention on your daily life for that matter.
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Oh man! That is the kind of thing I have dreams about. Not good ones. Going Commando? How do you come up with these words? Very funny.
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Stopping by from Susie’s page… I’m so glad I’m not the only one who has those moments. Of course mine don’t usually involve a DJ and a disco ball. That’s quality! 🙂
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Hahahaha…I don’t plan on having Dj’s present, but when they are I make it worth their time. Thanks for stopping by!
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