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| Jan, Norma Jean, and family car, 1955 or 1956 |
Norma Jean was going through some of her old family photos and found this one that HAD to have been taken in 1955 or at the latest 1956, since she is still pre-pubescent and at thirteen I am, well, stacked. It was taken in Puerto Rico while our dad was stationed there. We spent around three years at Ramey Air Force Base, and we both attended school on base. Norma Jean must have started to blossom herself right after this picture was taken. We both laughed over it, but I was actually quite surprised to realize there was a time when the two of us had such different physiques. Sisters with a two-and-a-half year difference in age rarely have anything that documents what those turbulent teenage years do to a girl's body.
Not to mention that I must have had one of those 1950s type conical bras to provide me with such a striking profile. Must have just purchased something like this and wanted to show it off, who knows? Whatever the reason for this picture is lost in the sands of time.
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| DJ and NJ, 2011 |
When we got together last month, both of us still kickin' and having gone through another fifty-some years of life, I think I can safely say we are both in good health and lucky to be able to look back together and laugh at ourselves. I do know that I learned how to apply makeup during those years (as I look at that bright red lipstick I was wearing then) and realize that I learned subtlety sometime later. No wonder I had such a hard time learning how to be ME at thirteen, since I was changing so rapidly I could hardly keep up!
A lot of life has flown through these two girls since that first picture was taken, and I sincerely hope that subsequent years will bring us more laughter and many more wrinkles. I love you, Norma Jean!
:-)
I'm watching as my own daughter begins to blossom! We do change dramatically in a few short years, so true.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written DJ.
smiles. i wish you many many more years of those memories...
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute picture...! And your hair and clothes (jeans rolled up...) would be right in fashion today.
ReplyDeleteWonderful memories!
I remember my mom taking me clothes shopping every couple of months at that age... the lady at the department store we went to in Mexico always recognised us and was like "back so soon???".
ReplyDeleteFast changes in a short period of time = VERY hard to adapt!
You guys look great in those shots!
Cute photos! The styles would fit right in today short of the conical bra! Pretty funny. NJ looks like a model in this photo. It's a framer for sure, as well as the 2011 photo...you both look terrific today.
ReplyDeleteHow cute you both are. :D
ReplyDeleteYou both look so cute. No wonder you laughed over this shot. You look quite proud of your new look, and she looks like she thinks you're pretty silly. I remember those days, and those bras!
ReplyDeleteI love it! There's just no real way to capture the incredible awkwardness of those years, is there. Still, I have plenty of my own photos that do a fairly decent job. I am pretty certain that I don't have any that show such a marked difference between my sister and me, though:) Of course, no one would ever have described either of us as stacked!
ReplyDeleteYour relationship with Norma Jean continually reminds me of my own with my sister.
Puberty is one of those topics that could take you on a long story. Hormones kicking in make it hard for kids to recognize themselves. I know I spent 37 years with this age group!!! I wouldn't have missed the junior high kids for anything!
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet sisterly post. Great photo and fine memories.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have a sister you can laugh with about all your teenage foibles. I always wished I had a sister. I was certainly not blessed with charms like yours... sigh. I had to wait until I got pregnant for that to happen. Thanks for sharing your happy memories with us.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute photo of your early years and some sweet memories too. Both you and Norma Jean are blessed to have one another.
ReplyDeleteYou and Norma Jean still look the same. You know how some people grow up and don't look so much like their kid pics? You both must have been the same all through your lives.
ReplyDeleteBoth of you so resemble your younger selves...good genes! I'm wondering why back then...we often posed in front of cars, my sister and I did it too. There's just a year between my middle sister and me and she's the one that just recently lost her husband too.
ReplyDeleteLife is memories. Some say life is living history. I think it is both. And these two photos seem to bear that out.
ReplyDeleteI was just going through the forgotten files myself. The addition of the conical bra definitely makes the post! The good old days.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing to have a sister that you are so close to, both as a child and as an adult.
ReplyDeleteThis post made me laugh out loud! Wonderful, DJan! Yeah, you do look stacked. lol.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I was flat chested at 13 and, I must admit, still am.
I miss the days when cars had those two-tone faux wood panels.
ReplyDeleteConical bras, very Madonna. :) Red lipstick, rolled up jeans....
ReplyDeleteLove the car. What a great pic of you and your sis. And what a nice way to tell your sister you love her. Sisters are the best.
Love this post! We once had a car like that.
ReplyDeleteTrish
Aw, memories of the early teen years which were fun and a little scary all at the same time. That is a great photo DJan.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in eighth grade, the girls would practice standing in that profile pose so we could look well-endowed--almost threw out my back trying to push those puppies forward! Then I discovered Vicki's "push 'em up, and push 'em out bras. You were blessed with gorgeous hair of which I am envious.
ReplyDeleteI remember those types of brassieres. I felt self conscious when I wore one and almost became a hunchback trying to hide my chest. It’s great to find all photos like this.
ReplyDeleteYes you were stacked..and from the way you were standing did you have heels on too?? Great old photo!! :)
ReplyDeleteBoth of your pictures are so cute! I just love them!!
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