So Here I Am

now one year closer to 30.

It is funny to me how older relatives like to ask, "Do you feel older?" When I was a kid that confused me. No, I didn't, in fact, I felt quite the same as I did yesterday.

Now I answer, "yes," which is usually received with good-natured laughter, although, depending on which day you catch me on, I might be serious ;).

What does a life of almost 30 years encompass at this point?
1) I had 3 little brothers (although now all 3 are bigger than me).
2) I graduated high school.
3) I went to college.
4) I fell in love.
5) I graduated from college.
6) I got married.
7) I got dogs.
8) I bought a house.
9) I had babies.
10) I opened a 401 (k)

Some other things you might be familiar with happened in that time:
1) Ronald Reagan became president and Iran released hostages on the day of his inaugeration.
2) The Challenger space shuttle exploded in mid-air.
3) The Berlin Wall came down.
4) Bill Clinton did not have sexual relations with that woman.
5) The stock market hit 10,000.
6) Mass genocide killed thousands in Rwanda.
7) A monster named Slobodon Milosevic held the former Yugoslavia under a brutal regime.
8) September 11, 2001
9) The US invaded Afghanistan, Iraq.
10) Michael Phelps broke the record for most gold medals won in an Olympics.

My life has been filled with hopes and disappointments, both personal and global. I remember in the 10th grade, at the mere age of 16, which discussing the holocaust in my world civilizations class, the consensus was, we could never let this happen to another people. But it had and still goes on today. In a way, I look at my life as the more it changes, the more it stays the same. Kind of a cynical view you could say. I mean, what could I, one person do? Yet this little voice (which I believe is my guardian angel) tells me each day to get up and be the best person I can be. That somehow, it will make a difference. Who knows, maybe I am grooming a future president, or someone who will find a cure for AIDS. Everyday is a battle to be good wife, a good mother, a hard worker, a compassionate soul, a believer in Christ, to keep my faith strong. I don't always succeed at all or any of these, but I get up and do it again. I once read a quote that was attributed to legendary Alabama football coach Bear Bryant, "Courage is not the man who fights and falls. It's the man who fights, falls and gets up again." I don't think of myself as courageous, but I do think there is wisdom in Coach Bryant's quote. It's how I live my life. All almost 30 years of it so far.

"For when the great scorer comes to write against your name, he writes not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game."
~Grantland Rice