What was your favorite activity as a child?
Playing with my paper dolls. I loved my paper dolls. I still have them packed away somewhere in my basement. I remember going to Homecoming my freshman year on a Friday and then playing with my Paper dolls on a Saturday while watching Saved by a Bell. I used my imagination and played for hours.
I compromised with him, if he would pay for the ticket, I would pay for the room. So that is what he did, he worked hard and earned the money and bought the tickets. Bob paid for his own but coming up with 1500$ as a 17 year old is a hard feat. I was very proud of him. We took that long trip over and Collin spent every second he could with Thao. We got to meet her family, got to see the beautiful island of Oahu and just relax ourselves. It was magical, just like every time I have been there.
Of course you can't forget the amazing food, the banana pancakes, the Vietnamese food we got with Thao and her family and seafood and desserts.
I was so happy that Collin and Thao got to finally meet. I'm rooting for their adorable love story.
This birthday was a difficult one for me. I turned 50. It was difficult, 50 is old for me, my parents both passed away in their 50's. It means I'm so much closer to the end of my life. I know, I know... logically I know that my parents are the anomaly, most people don't pass away before retiring. But that fear of 50 was not a logical fear.
So having told you the above, how amazing is my husband. He tells me a week before that we were going away for the weekend of my birthday. He wouldn't tell me where but finally told me we were flying somewhere. I was beyond frustrated because, grrr I hate surprises... (its a control thing, I'm working on it - Bob is helping...clearly)
So, we get packed, get in the car, get to the airport and finally he tells me he is taking me home. Home as in back to Georgia. Back to my roots. We got in the plane, landed in Atlanta, got a rental car, drove to Warner Robins where he had booked a room.
The next morning, we went to Hawkinsville, put flowers on my parents and sister's grave, went by my old home which is now empty and should be torn down and just around Hawkinsville. But it was so neat to show Bob where I grew up, my history.
I got to see my stepmother Angie, I had her on my mind for a while and was so happy I got to see her and my stepsister Melissa. Just this week, I found out Angie passed away and I'm so grateful, I saw her one more time.
That evening, Bob said we were going out, that I should dress up. However, he was coming in and out of the room, saying he needed to stretch his legs or that he needed to do something. I kinda thought something was up. Then we got on the elevator, and I asked him are we going to dinner.. alone? And he said nope... out of the elevator, there was Jody and Tonya with pizza, a cake, a tierra and sash and more of my friends from my childhood kept coming in. It was so amazing. I got to see some of my friends that I haven't seen for years. I loved it.
The next morning, we went to see Betty - Tonya's grandma in her nursing home and then we went to Tonya's for some amazing food and fun times.
The next morning we flew home. The boys while I was gone had decorated the house with balloons and streamer, they had made me a cake and they had gotten me presents!! That was pretty amazing too.
Overall, I felt so very, very loved and it made turning 50 not bad. It made me see how blessed I am in this life.
Personal History #8: What was your childhood bedroom like?
My childhood bedroom changed, when I was younger, I shared a room with my sister Tonya. We had barbies and paper dolls and we would play often with them. As I got older, Tonya moved back and forth to her moms and then back to her dads (with us). We had a bunk bed then. I was infatuated with Kirk Cameron from the show Growing Pains, so I had posters of him all over my wall. Later, 21 Jump Street came on the air and I found Johnny Depp to be so cute, so slowly my Kirk Cameron posters were replaced with Johnny. I had a stereo, I don't remember when I got it, but that was usually playing on the local rock radio station, or a tape of some type. When I was in high school, Tonya and I got TVs in our room, and from that point my bedroom was in full teenage mood. I try to remember that when my teenager basically never comes downstairs from his room anymore, that this is exactly what I did too. I kept my paper dolls though, all through childhood and even have them now somewhere in my basement.
3/23/2024
A few years back, 22 years to be exact, I was holding this little baby, I was his whole world, he was my greatest love (at that time, 2 more great loves came a few years later). This little baby, grew and grew and in what seems like a blink of my eye, he was running around, playing with friends. Then another blink and he was looking at girls, he had girlfriends, he had heartbreak and then one day he told me about a girl he liked. He asked if she could come over, she was shy but sweet and kind, I could tell she liked my Clayton and I could tell he really liked her as well.
Time went on, months, then years. Finally, my baby boy and this amazing young lady decided to get make their love official. My heart was both happy/excited/elated but if you can believe it, I also had moments of sadness, not for sweet couple, but for the official loss of my baby boy. He now, as he should, will cleave to his wife, I love that. I love that he has found his person.
Cregan states one evening, I'm going to Detroit next week for the Me-lee Tournament. Of course , I had questions, what is a Me-lee, where are you staying, how are you getting there, so on and so forth.
Well a Me-lee tournament is a gathering of gamers in Detroit, there's many different events happening that weekend, but the main event is the Super Smash Brothers tournament that happens on Sunday afternoon.
I was wary of Cregan going to a different state, not because he isn't capable of doing it, but his car might not have been. He had no plans on where he was staying yet and that frightened me too. Oh, and besides his car being questionable, it didn't lock, like at all, so that made me a little nervous. I asked him if he would mind me taking him and for a birthday gift paying for the room and food for the weekend. He finally agreed. We set off for Detroit, spent Friday night with Julie and then started to the event on Saturday. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was actually really fun, there were 100's of teens, young adults there, some in costume, some not. But everyone harmoniously in tune to this gaming world that Cregan lives in. And Sunday when the tournament was in the final rounds, the group all watching the event on the big screen, it was exciting and inviting, even for someone that can hardly figure out the buttons on the controllers, to cheer for the winners.
