Five Decades and More

Today is my birthday. So I decided to link you to a still relevant post about birthdays at this stage of my life...and then to highlight a few fun parts of the decades.

1953-1963

• being born
• moving to Smoot when I'm 10 days old
• going to elementary school in a one-room school/17 students
• growing tall
• learning to milk (little did I know this wasn't a good thing, especially)
• piano lessons
• discovering "Misty of Chincoteague" book

1963-1973

• growing even taller
• reading "Misty of Chincoteague" about eight more times
• meeting CoolGuy in 6th grade
• being a giant, skinny dweeb for several years
• getting my very own horse
• learning French
• graduating from high school
• graduating from full-time cow milking
• getting published in the "New Era"

1973-1983

• seeing the ocean for the first time
• moving there so I can see it every day
• marrying CoolGuy
• having four babies (not all at once)
• meeting Marguerite Henry and getting her autograph in my Misty book
• being on TV game shows twice
• getting published in the "New Era," again, and a biker magagzine

1983-1993

• Last baby born
• reading "Misty" to all of my kids
• moving, then moving again--it's a sport
• returning to the ocean
• first child's high school graduation (sob...)(but they are tears of happiness)
• graduating from college
• being on another TV game show
• being mother/fan/audience/groupie of awesome children

1993-2003

• moving again and again--maybe we're done?
• the flock is flying away
• more high school graduations
• mission farewells
• weddings
• temple w/CoolGuy
• grandchildren
• college graduations
• I become a teacher
• being published in the "New Era" again and "The Ensign"
• going to Chincoteague Island for Pony Penning Day

2003--2013???

• new city, new schools
• new babies (I can read "Misty" to another generation!)
• my very first passport stamps: Spain and Morocco
• good grief! Another TV game show!! (that's it...really)
• hopefully: the master's degree will get finished
• fun in the pool with grandpa and grandma
• fun in the desert with grandpa and grandma and the race car
• fun at the beach with grandpa and grandma
• I should try for the "Friend"...huh?

One thing about being old is that you have lots of memories and you can filter them any way you'd like to. You can just dump the bad ones if that suits you, and you can embellish the good ones. At least that is what I choose to do. It's just a lot more fun. And, as my birthday button that I wear each year says: "It's my birthday! I can do what I want."