“I have this theory,” my date said, “that you can tell a lot about who a person is as an adult just by hearing childhood anecdotes about them.”

“Okay,” I said, digging through my brain for a few anecdotes that I could safely reveal. “I, myself, am but a puzzle, so let me tell you a few.”

—-

The Clouds

My earliest memory is of my father holding me as he was taking me out of the car. I remember looking up at the sky and saying “What are those white things in the sky?” and my dad, looking at me fondly, replying “those are clouds!”

The Digger

I remember playing in a sandbox at preschool with a toy digger. It was a new toy, and I had waited what seemed to my young mind to be a long time in order to have a chance to play with it. It must have been approaching the end of the day, so there were parents about picking their kids up.

One of the dads said “you can’t play with that. It’s a boy’s toy!” to me. I had never heard of anything that crazy in my entire (probably 3 or 4 year-old) life. I told him that was stupid and that any of the kids can play with any of the toys. It was my earliest experience with sexism.

The Achiever

I remember the books in my grade one classroom were colour-coded according to reading level. I remember purposely picking books that were one level above the level I had been instructed to choose from. The teachers let me.

I also remember reading the book out loud to my teacher, and laughing with her, even though I didn’t understand the subject matter.

The Dreamer

When I was 6, I spent an entire cross-country plane trip looking out the windows of airplanes trying to see the Carebears. I was convinced that they were real.

When I didn’t see them, I told my mom that they must have been on the other side of the plane or, perhaps, away from home as they were busy teaching people how to care.

When we landed, I convinced my younger brother to stage a fight with me to try to coax them into appearing to teach us about caring.

The Loyalist

My held onto my first boy-band crush for way longer than I should have. I thought that if you really loved someone you wouldn’t abandon them simply because everyone else in the crowd moved on.

I took quite a hit socially for not letting go too.

—-

“Ah,” my date said, taking a sip of his Pinot Grigio. Had I picked the right anecdotes?

“What do you think?” I said, fidgeting with my utensils.

“You might have your head in the clouds a bit, and a bit of a feministic streak, but you also clearly have a good heart.”

I take a sip of my White Zinfandel, pleased with his analysis, but also thinking of the anecdotes I had passed on telling him. “I’ve always thought you can tell a lot by a person’s wine selection myself.”