I Am 42 And Earned It

I think it's great that people are always genuinely shocked at how old I really am. Typically, they think I'm in my late twenties to early thirties. I just turned 42 years old.

Personally, I love being 42. Or 41 or 40 or 37. It's all about the process. I've earned my 42 years. They were not all easy years. Some of the years I thought were hard, in hindsight, were a piece of cake - what was I thinking in my silly youth?!

Someone asked what I would say to my 20 year old self. What advice I would give her. I think I'd just give her a hug and walk away. There is nothing I could have told my 20 year old self that would have made differences and yet still brought me to where I am today.

If I had gone down any number of paths, I might not have met and married J. If I had gone down any number of paths, we might not have become parents to Motor Mouth or Mini Me. Whatever careers or volunteer positions I've done, whatever people I've met, whatever mistakes I've made, whatever kudos I've accumulated in the past were all insignificant compared to having the family I have right now. Yet all of them were necessary to enable me to be with the people I live with. My kids are my reason for being on this earth. J and I were destined to be their parents.

So, if my eye lids are a little more droopy than when I was 30 or if I have a few more gray hairs than when I was 30, if I have some lines forming around my eyes or mouth, or if my boobs are not where they were when I was 20, it was all worth it to be doing life with this husband and these kids. Wait. I think it would be nice to have the 20 year old boobs and still be doing life with my family.

When You Know Better, Do Better

We have been going through some stuff for the last few months. Some of it is stuff I just flat out did not want to happen and other stuff that was coming down the pike was stuff I just flat out did not want to happen in the future. Combined, it was a heavy weighing on my heart and thoughts.

The whole time, I felt like I was screaming inside. Like those people who have surgery and their bodies are paralyzed by their mind and senses are awake and they are trapped in their bodies, feeling the pain of the procedure. Except, I could have yelled and screamed and blogged and talked about it with everyone who would listen.

But this time around, I wanted to do it better than I have in the past. I wanted to walk through it gracefully, with peace and dignity. I wanted the process to be different than before. Ultimately, the outcome would be the same. It is how you go through it is what makes you feel good or bad about yourself afterwards. This time around, I wanted to feel good about myself. 

Sunday Wrap Up

Here is a rundown from the last month or so...

Thanksgiving
For the first time, we went to the State St Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was a blast!!!  I especially enjoyed singing and dancing to "Shake It Up, Baby" with Santa on State St - like in Ferris Beuller's Day Off! I should mention that we had VIP seating in the stands and THAT is the only way I will ever do a parade in future.

Bun Bun is Gone Gone
Our rabbit, Bun Bun, was adopted from the rabbit farm by another family. When I finally told the kids, I accidentally told them that Moo Moo was adopted from the farm by another family. They were devastated. If you recall, Moo Moo is the Christmas Cow from Santa's farm that visits us each year for the month of December. Needless to say, when I realized my mistake and clarified, the kids were totally cool with the rabbit being adopted - so long as Moo Moo still came. So, if you ever want to break bad news to a children, just tell them they lost something they love and when they realize that is not the case, the lesser news won't be so bad...

Barking Dogs
The timer for my iPhone sounds like a barking dog when it goes off.  I set my timer at work and walked away without my phone. Needless to say, there were a number of disturbed staffers and parents who heard a fierce barking dog in a school building. Bahahaha!

Total Flattery
My friend MAM is a writing professor, published author, speaker, and well all around accomplished in the field of writing. For my birthday, she gave me a book to help me start submitting my work for publication. Basically, MAM said that my writing has improved and with some tweaks here and there, she thinks I'm ready for publication. HIGH PRAISE indeed!!! If MAM thinks it, it must be true. I need to get my butt in gear and start submitting work!

New Blog
It might be time to phase out of Widney Woman into something different. There is much over the last month or two that I would have liked to have shared but can't because for as anonymous much of my blog is, it is not anonymous to those who know me and J. I get out my thoughts and feelings in writing. It is hard to do that right now which leads me to question the viability of Widney Woman. I'll keep you posted.

Toyota Frustration
I'm so frustrated with Toyota right now. We bought a brand new car so we would not have to make expensive repairs in the first 3-4 years. Not working out that way!!! Should have bought a Ford. That way, we would have expected a disappointing vehicle and to pay out the whazoo on repairs!

Okay, so that is about it. I'm sure I have more that I will wish I had said but, oh well. 

It's Your Birthday!

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago.

I took liberty this year as my birthday was on a Monday- it was a 4 day celebration starting Friday. Basically, the kids had to be nice to each other and not fight or argue from Friday to Monday. 

PRESENTS

When asked what I wanted for my birthday this year, it was simple - sleep!!! I requested to be able to sleep all day Sunday and Monday (took the day off work). It was divine! J did get me a leather Book Book case for my iPhone to match my laptop case. J took the kids to get me a birthday card and they made cards and a Happy Birthday banner.

FOOD

On Sunday, J made me breakfast in bed. Yum! While the kids were at school on Monday, J took me to Cafe Trinidad for lunch. I was born in Trinidad so it is always nice to "return to my birth place" on my birthday. After dinner that evening, we had a glorious cake from Whole Foods. Yum!!!

SURPRISE

That evening, J surprised me with a visit from one of my favorite friends, Usher! I hadn't seen Usher since he was one of my nursemaids that fateful day in August when I almost died. It was good to hang out with him and J. I wish I had known he was coming - I would have put make up on and done my hair. After all, the last time Usher saw me, I was snoring on his lap and looked like a character out of Star Trek!

In his defense, J was going to have me get showered and made up but Usher came an hour early. I'm glad he came when he did. Otherwise, Usher could have possibly heard me singing and carrying on in the shower. And there is no telling what I would have gone running into the living room wearing - or not wearing - while being obnoxious as one can be with only your spouse awake. It would have made for a funny story after I recovered from the shame of embarrassment. Maybe.

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday!

Knowing Me Knowing You - November '11

knowing me, knowing you - November 2011

It's time once again for that monthly interview project, Knowing Me, Knowing You!!

1. What keeps you up late at night?This summer I was up a lot thinking about work. I had several goals that were rather lofty. I ended up slam dunking the work goals.

2. Do you collect anything?Tea pots. NOT tea cups. NOT mugs. Tea pots.

3. Are you addicted to Angry Birds?No. I have only played it once.

4. What's your idea of a perfect evening?Honey, these days, if I can stay awake when I sit down for a minute, it's all gravy from there.

5. Are you looking forward to winter?I live in Chicago. No.

Now, head on over to the Fairy Blogmother and show her some love!