Thursday, March 15, 2012

30 Things in 30 Years

Today I am 30 years old. Holy shit! So, to commemorate this monumental occasion, I wanted to make a list (YESSSS!) of 30 cool things I've done in my 30 years. I will try my best to keep this succinct. ;) Alright, here goes (in attempted chronological order)...


1. I was born. I already knew how to nurse, cry, pee, and poop. I nursed for 18 months. I still cry, pee, and poop. :)

2. I learned to walk and talk. And run and jump and climb. And talk. And ride a bike, and roller skate. And talk.

3. I discovered my love of music and singing. I randomly burst into song, and have a song for just about every situation.

4. I learned to read, 'rite, and 'rithmatize (<--i a="" br="" made="" new="" up="" word="">
5. I became a ballerina, and a pianist. Today, I cherish my electric piano and its 88 weighted keys.

6. I learned to crochet. I have since crocheted afghans for 4 of my children (child #5 is getting a knitted one).

7. I learned to sew. I made doll clothes with my grandmother. I have dreams that someday, a good portion of my family's wardrobe (and other useful fabric items) will be handmade by me. We shall see...

8. I learned to knit. (I looooooove to knit. I make mostly wool diaper covers and toys. I wish I had more time/energy to knit, and I wish I could knit faster. That's a tall order because I'm already a fast knitter. Maybe I should revisit the time/energy issue...)

9. I lived in Switzerland for a year. I attended a local school and was immersed in the culture. I toured Europe on weekends and holidays.

10. I became fluent in Swiss German in a matter of months. Years later, in high school, I learned French.

11. I learned to snow ski...quite well. (I also learned to water ski.)

12. I became a kick-ass cook.

13. I got accepted into and participated in a rigorous high school program that burned me out on school for the rest of my friggin' life.

14. I took an IQ test. The result astounded me. It still does. And it annoys the hell out of me, too.

15. I discovered that I suffer from mental illness. I have accepted and embraced it, and learned to cope as best I can. That journey will never end.

16. I got involved with the wrong crowd. I got hurt. I got in trouble.

17. I conquered an addiction. I am currently working on conquering another one.

18. I survived abuse. I am still learning to live with it; to recover. It seems like an impossible task. Maybe it is.

19. I had a lot of boyfriends. A lot. Not the healthiest relationships.

20. I got married to a childhood sweetheart.

21. I birthed 5 people, the last of whom I birthed unassisted, in a dimly-lit, peaceful corner of my bedroom. It was the most incredible experience of my life.

22. I accepted my body after the birth of my 4th child.

23. I survived my husband's deployment to Iraq.

24. I started a blog. Personally, I think it's awesome. :)

25. I accepted my physical limitations due to scoliosis, and learned how to cope as best I can. This was after I learned that you can pull ribs out of their sockets in your spine. Yeah. Ouch.

26. I broke my ankle kicking the dog, and dropped a tree on my foot. (Totally different scenarios, years apart. Just stupid-ass things I did that resulted in painful physical injury.)

27. I dropped out of college in order to pursue my real dream: to be a stay-at-home mom.

28. I took on the responsibility of facilitating my children's education. I effing LOVE it.

29. I let my firstborn go. He lives with his dad now. It's bittersweet.

30. I successfully made it through the first year of my 5th child's life without feeding her a drop of formula. We are still happily nursing.


I went and wrote my whole life story (well, maybe not the WHOLE thing) -- in a LIST! What could be better?! I do so love lists.

Happy 30th Birthday to ME!