A Quarter of a Century Worth

Today I turned 25. Not really a milestone of any kind, but birthdays always make you think of where you are and where you’re going. Me? I realized today while sitting at a baseball game that I’m not happy, not really. You see, I heard police and ambulance sirens. Anyone who has ever worked on-call understands what I mean. I knew it was my day off and I knew the chances were very slim that if would even affect me, but there I was getting anxious and then kicking myself for it. What do I want for my birthday? Contentment. I don’t want to be afraid to make plans for fear of having to cancel. I want a life outside of my work and I think I deserve it. So that’s what I’ll be working on…

On a happier note, here are a few random memories from my first 25 years. I expect many more in the years to come. *My parents bought a video camera in the mid-1980s, and we have so many tapes. At first we couldn’t think of anything but cheers to do and then we were putting on plays and dances. I even put together an exercise tape for my mom once. Dad would bring it out every once in awhile during family gatherings and just set it in the corner running. It's funny looking back now and just hearing people talk about everyday things especially when they don't realize it's recording. *I remember my uncle used to dote on me and always take me, just me, to get an ice cream sundae with nuts. And he would sing, "She has freckles on her nose, but she's pretty!" *Dad used to race every weekend too so we'd spend evenings at different dirt tracks usually curled up on mom's lap or running back and forth from the concession stand. *I was also in 4-H for years and my summer revolved around meetings, projects, fundraisers and getting ready for the county fair in the fall. I took a writing project and won first place in the county. (Is that when the writing bug got me for good?) *In junior high, I had my first boyfriend and first kiss. It was during a game of truth or dare, if you must know, behind the barn at a friend's house. I look back on that time with a bittersweet feeling. *I remember my printed media class in high school and the advisor. Ms. D was the best and she taught us everything we ever wanted to know about annual yearbooks and quarterly newspapers. I was even senior section editor of the yearbook and business manager and editor of the newspaper at a point (more foreshadowing I suppose). *I could go into my college and post-college years but I might as well write a book about that. Let’s just say the people I met during that time stand out the most. They, along with my family, are what I always remember.