I wanted a bra so bad.  All my friends were wearing them already.  I was tall and thin and sick of being called “flatty patty.”  I was glad that I was finally “developing” but those protruding buds with their stiff little nipples really made me self conscious.  I kept my arms crossed over my chest most of the time.  That fall my mother went so far as to take me to Gimbels department store to try them on.  I wore a 30AA.  But she said I wasn’t ready yet.  I was so pissed off. I was going to be 14 years old just two weeks after Christmas. I wasn’t a little kid any more. 

I knew where they hid the Christmas gifts. They were always under the stairwell in the basement.  Duh.  Like it took a genius to figure that out.  I was hoping for a new Rolling Stones album, a transistor radio, or a pair of groovy bell bottoms.  The kinds of things most 14 year old girls were hoping for in 1969.  While my parents were out of the house having cocktails with their neighborhood friends, I took the opportunity to do some recon.  I carefully looked through the stash.  An erector set for my little brother, a pink Barbie car for my little sister.  Pajamas for all of us and a bunch of other worthless crap like socks.  Whoopee!  There was nothing special.  Not for me.

On Christmas Day, my family gathered in the kitchen—both sets of grandparents, my parents, my brother and sister, and my beloved Uncle Terry.  Terry was just 21 years old.  I thought he was so cool.  He rode a Harley and had taken me on a few exciting rides around the neighborhood in the summer. 

We feasted on my family’s usual Christmas brunch food—ham and rolls, carrot sticks, fruit, and danish.  And of course my parents served those god awful cannibal sandwiches—raw ground sirloin on rye bread with onions.  Gross!  I chose to stick with ham on a roll and some cantaloupe.

Eventually it was time to circle around the Christmas tree and open the gifts from “Santa.”  Yeah right.  First we unwrapped the boring packages containing pajamas and socks.  I feigned a small level of delight at my pink flannel nightgown.  My sister carefully unwrapped her Barbie car and squealed with delight.  My brother tore into his package and immediately hunkered down to play with the erector set, my dad joining in to help. 

And then my mother shushed everyone.  “Oh look!  There’s one more special present for Elaine!”  Holy cow!  I was so excited.  The package was too small to be an album or bell bottom jeans.  Could it be the transistor radio?????  Everyone stared as I carefully removed the festive wrapping.  OMG!  I couldn’t believe it.  It was that stupid 30AA bra I tried on at Gimbels. Everyone was laughing.  My Uncle Terry shouted “Elaine finally got a bra!”  I dropped the dang thing to the floor and ran straight for my bedroom dying with embarrassment. I can’t believe she did this to me!  Of course I wanted the bra but did the whole family have to know about it?  I pouted in my bedroom until everyone left.  

The Christmas break came to a close. I was getting dressed for the first day back to school.  I opened my underwear drawer and there was the bra.  I proudly put it on and hoped  everyone at school would notice that I wasn’t a flatty patty anymore.  Maybe I’ll get my period one of these days too.