Oohh Ooo oooh, Brown Eyed Girl...

I have 3 children...2 girls and a boy. CJ (my son) is the only one of the three to resemble me in any way. I can't really see it, but readily agree with anyone who states it. So, yesterday at the Chicken Coop, a lady (who apparently knew me when I was three) commented on how much my son looked like me. Her exact words were "He has your big brown eyes"....
Oh, those words...they bring back a very embarrassing memory from my childhood. And, what profit is an embarrassing memory if you can't share it with strangers? None. Thus, I shall share.
I am guessing I was about 10 or so...old enough to have lost my baby teeth, but young enough to not have  had  braces to fix my buck teeth. Now, I don't know if any of you are familiar with the Little House on the Prairie series (books or show) but I had labeled myself as Laura after reading the books. My sister was Mary. Her hair was thick and held any style; her teeth were straight....my hair was thin, stringy and had cowlicks all over (still is) and I had buck teeth. Needless to say, I did not have much self confidence at that point in my life....which would lead to my downfall.
Zoom back almost 30 years; I was getting ready to sit down after Sunday School class, a couple from church said hello to me and I replied. As I sat down on the red cloth covered pew directly in front of said couple, I heard the wife say to the husband , "Have you ever seen such big brown eyes?".
 Well,  I cannot explain the swelling of pride that arose in my 10 year old chest.  Suddenly I had something to be vain about! I had never heard anyone tell my older sister that SHE had big brown eyes..Ha! ( Now, maybe if someone had spent their whole life knowing that they were beautiful, they wouldn't have reacted the way that I did, but, alas, I turned into a creepy little girl with big eyes)
After that day, every time I sat in front of this particular couple and they would say "Hi Shelley", I would turn my cowlicked head around slowly, dramatically, and tilt it up toward them....as I did this, I would open my eyes as wide as I could (the better for them to see my "beautiful brown eyes) and reply "Hello" with a big buck toothed smile. I would even try to keep from blinking, as not to block my beautiful brown eyes for even a second. 
I can only imagine what I looked like. I keep seeing Gene Wilder as a ten year old girl. I never did this to anyone else...just this poor unfortunate couple...for YEARS.  I really should applaud their kindness, for the fact that my contorted facial expression didn't deter them from speaking to me at all. I remember doing this every Sunday that they spoke, then turning around in my pew waiting for them to comment on my beautiful big brown eyes...luckily for them and me, they never said it again. I can't imagine what I would have resorted to if I had been encouraged.  

Every time I think about "big eyeing" them for the first time I laugh and cringe simultaneously. What did they say to each other? They had to have discussed it on their way home from church..."What in the world is wrong with that kid?" or "Do you think it's something medical?"....I still go to the same church, and this couple is still there. Most of the time I sit in front of them with my family...not to long ago I decided to turn around and ask them if they remember me "big eyeing" them for years. The laughed and said no. I think they are lying. Either way, it gave me the first real confidence of my pre-teen life and another blog post:)))