Hide and seek - By Tia

The year was 1990 and I was only 10 years old. We'd just attended the baby blessing of the 3rd grandchild in the family - Kyle, and were at Trina and Brian's house for a luncheon. All of the kids were shuttled downstairs to play hide-and-seek. Kim Dickerson, Brian's sister, was counting and I followed Laura into the downstairs bathroom - sure that she would love to share her hiding spot with her little sister. As she lay flat in the tub, shoving me out, ("Tia, we can't both fit, go hide somewhere else!") I crammed myself into the cupboard next to the toilet. Unfortunately, the growth spurt I'd just finished meant that the door didn't completely close and I was sure I'd be found out! As Kim went around the basement finding people, I realized that she'd totally missed me! As they called for everyone to come out so they could start a new round I stayed put, certain that I had the best spot and I wasn't giving it up! I could hear that they began a new round so when the door to the bathroom opened and someone walked in I just thought it was another "hider", but then I heard the door being locked.Through the crack of the cupboard door I could see a tall man situating himself on the toilet to "manage the situation". I shut my eyes tight and tried to pull my legs in as close as I could and just waited - mortified at the circumstances I was in. A few minutes into the "situation" Laura and Kim were pounding on the door and the man inside was yelling back, "I'm in here, give me a minute!" Laura knew that I was still in the cupboard. When he was finished, the man washed his hands and opened the door as a gaggle of kids flooded in to open the cupboard. As soon as they opened the door I burst into tears of embarassment. Trina pushed her way through the crowd, ordered everyone out of the bathroom and sat me on her lap and held me while I cried.For the rest of the afternoon I was too embarassed to go upstairs to confront this man - I only wanted to tell him - and everyone- that I hadn't looked and I'd plugged my ears, as if that would have made him feel any better! I think the story is hilarious now - could you imagine?!!!

Tia