Grade five was a landmark year, full of valuable life lessons that shaped me in many ways. My friend Kathy A. played a pivotal role in this and I will never forget her.

Kathy A. was a chubby Greek girl with a wild giggle and a wicked sense of humour. My group of girlfriends didn’t like Kathy A. and I was given an ultimatum – be friends with her or with them, not both. I chose Kathy A., realizing that if my other friends could present me with such a proposal, they weren’t really my friends at all. This decision came with a price. My former friends began a campaign of taunts and torture, calling me names and trying to push me into the dreaded yellow dog pee snow at recess. My mother offered sage counsel, “Hold your head high and ignore them, eventually they will get tired of not getting a reaction out of you, and they will move on. And remember, they will all eventually get theirs.”

I held on to the dream of seeing them get run over by the karmic wheel and plotted their demise over strategy meetings with my dog. I enjoyed visits to Kathy A.’s house where we would feast on chicken swimming in olive oil and lemon potatoes that would dissolve on our tongues. At Greek Easter her mom gave me a loaf of Greek Easter bread. It was one of the most delectable breads I had tasted, braided and yellow and heavy with egg. I devoured it in thick slices and was oblivious to the day’s schoolyard torment.

Eventually my bullying former friends did move on and by the end of the year we had called a truce, although secretly I watched and waited for their karmic demise, a grudge holder even at the tender age of ten. My distrust of mean girls and my love of funny girls with appetites was firmly cemented.

I learned many things in grade five. I learned that it is better to have one true friend than a bevy of false ones. I learned to be true to my heart and stand by my convictions even if it makes me unpopular. I learned to hold my head up high and march to my own drummer.

Above all, I learned that Greek Easter bread is one of the most delicious breads in the world.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 19th, 2009 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Why I'll Never Be Skinny . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.