I love cream horns. I love the combination of the flaky pastry with the creamy filling. To this day I can't make a pack of 4 last more than about 24 hours if I (finally) find them at my local Publix. Well, maybe not to this day, lately I've been working out and trying to lose weight. But, in days past, this has certainly been true. And, for what it's worth, the cream horns at Publix are way better than the ones at Walmart. But, that's just my opinion.
One celebration I will never forget is the celebration for my SAT results. The story may seem insignificant, but I still remember it vividly, 15 years later.
Prior to the start of my senior year of high school, my mom took a job with Carnegie Mellon University. The incentive was for Mom to get a job at a university that would have some kind of tuition reimbursement for children of staff. When Mom got the job at CMU, I then was given the task of "getting in". I already had the grades and GPA I needed. The last thing left was a good SAT score. A "good SAT score" by CMU standards... Yikes!
The first time I took the SATs I didn't score well AT ALL. Embarrassingly poorly, actually. Nowhere near the score I would need to get into CMU. Thankfully, that first round was taken with enough time. So, my parents enrolled me in an SAT class at the local community college to help me better prepare. I was really nervous taking the test the second time around. There wasn't enough time with the second round. I had to get it right the second time. And, to be frank, there was no reason I shouldn't score poorly. I was a smart kid, in mostly AP or Honors classes. I got great grades... just "froze up" with that first SAT try.
The morning of the second test, I remember my mom waking me up early and gave me two Tylenol to "take the edge off". Mom was good for that kind of stuff. She played classical/instrumental music while I ate my breakfast and she made me tea to get some caffeine into me to help wake me up and keep me on my toes for the next few hours of testing I was up against.
This second try at the SATs had one significant difference than the first time... I was in a cast. On my right hand. A soccer injury I suffered during the season (the first season of girl's soccer EVER for Steel Valley, thankyouverymuch!). I remember during the regular school year my mom would help me with my notes in the evenings. I would take these awful notes during class, and when I came home, my mom would type them for me on the computer that very night (when they were still fresh in my mind) so I could go back and read them again days later. I also remember my BFF Lauren coloring in teeny tiny sections of pictures of the human brain and other body parts and labeling them for me (as well as her own) during our Anatomy & Physiology class because my dexterity was so poor there was no way I could do that myself and stay in the lines accurately. But, I digress...
When I showed up for the exam, I remember the proctor in the room I was in making a comment that maybe I should re-think taking the exam that day... that if I were right handed (which I am), it would be too difficult with the cast to last the duration of the test. He also tried to look inside the cast to see if I had any cheat sheets. Dude, I grew up in a Catholic school. I don't think I knew what a cheat sheet was! Cheating was lying and lying was a sin. Nope, no cheat sheets. Maybe a few broken pieces of uncooked spaghetti (this was what my mom used to scratch under the cast for me when I really complained... pretty good idea if you think about it... uncooked spaghetti couldn't break through the skin, and if a piece broke off it wouldn't do much - but again, I digress...).
Oh, my hand lasted through that exam... so did my bladder! I remember that in the 4 hours of the exam (or however long it took), I never once left my seat. Not for ANY of the breaks they gave us, not for anything. I was in the zone.
When the exam was over, I was picked up by my parents (honestly, I don't remember who picked me up - probably my mom) and anxiously asked how I did. I wasn't sure (although I probably did a lot of dramatic eye rolling and hand gesturing to show that I was over-anxious myself and how dare they ask me such a question).
Pins and needles were arranged everywhere I went for the next few weeks as we awaited the results of the exam. I remember when the letter came in the mail. I remember the whole family being in the little kitchen, eager to hear the score. I opened the letter and read the numbers... excitement spread across my face I'm sure. I did it. I got over the requirement for the university. I DID IT! Everyone was so happy, but Dad was the only one who gave me a present. Who else do you know got a present when they got their SAT scores back?
In jubilation, I remember my dad opening the cabinets above the stove. Out fell three packs of cream horns... a WHOLE PACK EACH of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla! They were my "reward" from my dad of a job well done. Kel-kel did it. The last piece of the puzzle to get into CMU was finally in place.
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