The Birds and the Bees and Belinda

not ready for sex ed

Photo by Jonah Pettrich on Unsplash

Junior High, the time of puberty, hormones, and sex ed. The girls attending the public junior high school were taught about their changing bodies by the school nurse. No formal sex ed classes for us attending the catholic school. We were left to find out on our own.

I learned about the birds and the bees from Belinda.

I was an almost 11-year-old little girl, happy to be on summer vacation. Our small ranch house was one of many on our suburban street where Belinda and our other friends lived and played. It was built on a slab all decked out in mid-century modern décor. A turquoise couch, a black metal starburst clock on the wall, and a three-globe black floor lamp made our living room look snazzy by 1950s standards. A metal geometric coffee table sat in front of the couch. In the corner was the ever-present bar cart which held an assortment of liquor bottles.

My bedroom was a teenager’s dream, but I hated it!

Not just the décor, but the memories. It looked like a sock hop straight from the TV show American Bandstand. Black plastic silhouettes on a bubble gum pink wall of a boy and girl dancing surrounded by black vinyl records.

I always felt bad for my mom because she surprised me by redecorating my bedroom and thought I’d…