my list

in my last post i gave you homework (list 16 big events in your life). so far there are some pretty interesting lists. i've been working on my list off and on. seems like there are so many more things than 16. i thought about good and bad things--all of which have played a role in making me who i am today. i decided to make this list only about good things.

16 big events

1. Moved to Germany for my last three years of high school.
(Moving around as an army brat couldn't help but influence my life, but this move in particular had the biggest impact on me.)

2. Meeting the guy who became the hubs when I first got to Germany.
(Granted meeting your future spouse is important, but aside from being the hubs he has been the one person I have been able to trust and count on consistently since I was 15.)

3. Visiting Paris (w/ the guy who became the hubs) and London (w/ a friend & her family)
(Experiences like these opened my mind to so many things. Seeing the Louve, Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace, etc. all the sights and smells and colors I still remember to this day.)

4. Having mind-expanding art and English teachers in high school
(I credit my art teacher w/ opening me up as an artists, though I've not really done much w/ it since college. She taught me to appreciate art and inspired my love of museums. My English teachers further solidified my love for writing/reading.)

5. Going to college
(It's cliche to say but it broadened my horizons.)

6. Getting my first dog that was all mine and not a family pet
(Chloe was the runt of a beagle litter. My first baby. She moved w/ me when I moved in w/ the hubs and lived with us until the ripe old age of 12.)

7. Accepting the guy who became the hubs' ultimatum.
(We hadn't "dated" for a few years but he said we needed to get back together or severe all ties.)

8. Getting my first editorial job w/ a real magazine
(I worked in customer service for a magazine before getting my editorial "break" and I still remember the day when the editor asked me if I wanted to come work for him.)

9. Marrying the hubs and going to the beach for our honeymoon
(Although our getting married was no surprise, the beach honeymoon turned out to be such a big deal for us. We still visit the same restaurant when we go now. It has become an important, yet not frequent enough, get away for us.)

10. Giving birth to the girl
(Obviously giving birth to your first kid is a big deal, but, we'd tried for 5 yrs. I was convinced I'd never have a baby and was actually almost 5 months along before we knew.)

11. Becoming an editor for the first time
(As much as I say (now) titles don't matter, I felt pretty cocky the first time I got that title.)

12. Giving birth to the boy
(It was so much easier the second time around, even though it wasn't something we were trying for. No health issues like w/ the girl, just the ability to bask in his birth.)

13. Buying our house and moving out of the trailer
(Our first house (which we're still in); it was stressful and exciting. Living here has made a big difference in our lives, good and bad; it has inspired our love of gardening and spending time outside.)

14. Taking the kids to the beach for the first time
(The boy was maybe 3-4 and the girl was 5-6. That was back when they still liked each other : ) It was incredible to see them in an environment we both love.)

15. Losing my job
(This is very much something that would also top the bad list, but, there have also been good things about this trip. Certainly being able to spend so much time w/ my kids (more so than I'd ever done before) has been the biggest good thing about being unemployed.)

16. Taking my first mother/daughter trip w/ the girl
(I'd gone on an over-night school field trip w/ her, but our beach trip this spring, just the two of us, made me feel so close to her.)

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since my last post i've turned 42 and have caught a bug of some sort. possibly sinus.