In honor of this significant milestone in my life, I present the Top 40 Things About Me, which could also probably be renamed, The Top 40 Things You Could Care Less About And Probably Won’t Read Anyway. That’s okay, I won’t tell anyone you’re actually interested and reading.
1. I weighed 8 lb. 10 oz. when I was born…3 weeks early.
2. Sad part, I was the smallest of the three babies in our family. My poor mother.
3. The town I was born in – Danvers, Massachusetts – is the *REAL* Salem Village of the Salem Witch Trials fame. The town of Salem, which is just down the road and has gotten all the credit, should be better known as the hometown of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
4. I do not have a traditional birth certificate. Because I was born on a holiday weekend, my parents had to get my birth certificate several days after I was born and it was issued by Town Hall, not the state.
5. I consider myself a New Englander by heritage, but I only lived there for the first 15 months of my life.
6. Boston and Texas both feel more like “home” to me than Florida does, even though I spent all my growing-up years there.
7. I had dreams of being an olympic gymnast or swimmer when I grew up. The fact that I couldn’t do a headstand independently until I was 13 kind of crushed those dreams.
8. My other goals were to be a third-grade teacher and a mom. I’m proud to say I’ve accomplished both of those.
9. I had a room decorated in bright orange, green, yellow, and brown until I was in the 6th grade. I had shag carpet to match. Feel free to insert your own insult here, but I loved that room.
10. My house growing up was a split-level. I have always – and still do – thought that was the coolest design for a house.
11. I had a window directly over the flat roof above our front doorstep. I could have easily snuck out of my room any time I wanted without my parents ever knowing. I never was brave enough to do that though I thought about it often.
12. I never went to kindergarten. I started first grade when I was 5 years old.
13. I learned to read on my own during the summer before I started first grade.
14. I took piano lessons from the same teacher from the time I was in first grade until I graduated from high school. My parents signed me up for lessons because I couldn’t hold a pencil correctly and they thought it would help strengthen my fingers.
15. I was the mascot cheerleader for David’s high school basketball teams. I loved the uniform and my saddle shoes. I was more than thrilled when they added the little pom-pom to the shoe (with the little bell inside) and I could jingle as I walked down the hall.
16. I became a Christian when I was 5 years old at a 5-day-Bible Club hosted by a neighbor.
17. I was baptized on Palm Sunday, 1978, just a few days after my 9th birthday.
18. I played volleyball and basketball in junior high and high school and was a cheerleader in 8th and 12th grades.
19. My volleyball team went to state my freshman year of high school.
20. I went to summer camp in New Hampshire on Lake Winnepesaukee for 6 years. I have very fond memories of that camp and the time I spent there.
21. I have gone rappelling, rock climbing, whitewater canoeing, and camped solo while doing a 24-hour fast. I can waterski slalom but never learned how to get up on one ski – I always have to drop a ski.
22. My very first job was as a cashier at Publix Grocery Stores. After a year, I was promoted to “office cashier” which meant I could sell cigarettes, though at 16 I was too young to purchase them myself.
23. I didn’t want to work at Publix. I wanted to be a waitress or work at a fast-food restaurant. That’s what the “cool” kids did.
24. I played clarinet from 7th-12th grade.
25. We moved to Texas 10 days before I left for college – north of Boston. Talk about culture shock.
26. My original major in college was physical therapy. I changed majors my second day of my sophomore year.
27. I met Matt during the summer after my freshman year of college at a physics class at Richland Community College in Dallas.
28. Matt and I began to date while he was living in Egypt as a missionary and I was recovering from fracturing two vertebrae in my back after falling off a horse.
29. My very first car was a 1986 Mazda 323 4-door sedan. I loved that car. It was a standard transmission, so I had to learn to drive it first!
30. I went to college on several scholarships including an academic and sports scholarship (for volleyball).
31. My volleyball team went to nationals my freshman year. I played in the national tournament in Ft. Worth.
32. My first “real” job was as a fourth-grade teacher at Scofield Christian School in Dallas.
33. My first apartment was a one-bedroom apartment at Deerfield Apartments on Forest Lane between Audelia and LBJ. I loved that apartment.
34. Tiger Lily – a grey striped Tabby cat - was my very first *real* pet. She was my roommate before Matt and I married, and our “baby” before we had children. She lived to the ripe old age of 14 before we had to put her down. She has left her legacy in the shredded curtains at my mom’s house.
35. I have been to Canada, Mexico, Israel, England, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia (before it split), Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland. I have traveled to nearly every state east of the Mississippi but very few to the west.
36. My dream in college was to be a children’s author. I have several manuscripts but am too afraid to submit any of them.
37. I am afraid of heights.
38. The greatest blessings in my life are my husband and children. I waited a long time to get married and have children – and I can honestly say that good things come to those who wait.
39. The two things I most wanted to do when I was a child – take ballet and be a Girl Scout – I never was allowed to do. I also never got the Baby Alive or Easy-Bake Oven I really, really wanted. But I’m not bitter. Or resentful. Therapy worked wonders!
40. I honestly believe the best years of my life are yet to come. I’ve been blessed with great friends (like you), a great family, and I know that great adventure lies ahead. I’m ready to face it head on!