Some Memories Always Make Me Laugh

Today I was reminded of a class trip I took when I was fourteen and in grade nine.  We had four grade nine classes with about 25-30 per class, we all went on a day trip to some caves in Nova Scotia. Half of the group went into the caves in the morning and when they came out from their excursion, the second group which I was a part of started off for their chance to explore some caves.

We had to walk along a path that had a steep gravel drop off to one side, of course I slipped and ended up sliding down the gravel, with nothing to stop me... thankfully a couple of teachers were there and were able to reach me before I slid to the bottom.  I never strayed close to the edge after that, I learned my lesson.  After finally walking over the narrow path, we reached the mouth of the cave.  My classmates went before me, I climbed in, attempted to step down, found I had caught my foot in between two rocks....

I ceremoniously fell into the cave, losing my hard hat that another teacher had to retrieve for me.  By this point, I wanted to get out of the cave and go home, however; that was not an option.  I trudged along in the dark with my friends and a small flashlight.  My feet were sinking into mud, I pulled my food out and somehow lost my sneaker... I had to fish into the mud to find it.

Finally our exploring was over and I was finally FREE to get back to civilization.  While walking out, we had to walk over a brook using some strategic rocks.... by this point I laughed and walked into the brook... really after all that I had dealt with that day a little brook wasn't going to hurt me.  I climbed onto the bus, found a seat and prepared to get comfortable for the ride home.

While adjusting my clothing and brushing off dried mud, I realized my underwear were sticking out of my pants... all I can tell you is I was more shades of red that day than I can remember.  It is always hard to be a teenager and not fit in, the stories later though are so much funnier than they were on the day they happened.

I remember thinking, wow.... how am I going to live this down... teenagers are not always nice.  I wish I could tell that fourteen old girl (me) that those people wouldn't matter later in life and that actually the incident turned out to be a great memory that makes me laugh every time I think of it. 

We all need to laugh at ourselves a little more often and not be so serious.

I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥