0: From my mother's womb untimely ripped. And then we almost lost her when someone neglected to take all of my baggage out of said womb. Thanks to the miracles of modern science, my mom and I survived the whole experience.
1: Let's see, don't remember much about it, but the pictures indicate that I was a peach-fuzzed, blue-eyed cutie. At some point I grew in real hair, blond to go with the eyes.
2: Ah, nursery days. This was the year of my earliest memories. I remember the nursery room and some of the toys. I remember one of my dear nursery leaders, even. And as many of you know, I even remember my grandmother who left this world when I was only 2.5 years old.
3: Hooray for Peggy's Preschool! (I have a niece and nephew who have continued the tradition started by moi.) Slightly older Natalie Sirrine was supposedly my best friend in the class, but she always made fun of me, especially how I still said "twee" instead of "three". But hey, I was only three. What did she expect? I didn't put up with bossy people ever after.
4: Continued at Peggy's Preschool. Made friends with the twins Nathan and Aaron, whose very sweet mother had visions of one of her boys marrying me. (Visions which continued until she got my bridal shower invitation, I think.) Also met and became instant best friends with Lu&Moo.
5: Really cool year. Disneyland, kindergarten, piano, German exchange student, Berlin wall. I remember it all. But one of my favorites of that year was the dog we got the spring that I turned 5. I grew up with that dog. Loved him. He still visits me in my dreams on occasion, ever protective of the little one.
6: Hm. Oooh, I went to my first live opera that summer. Don Giovanni in Santa Fe. We got to go back stage and everything. Absolutely loved it, especially the singing statue scene and the dragging to hell bit. First grade, first crush (whose obituary I sadly read in the last year or two). Brother went to the BaYoU and brought back a cheerleading outfit for me.
7: Started violin. Second grade, second crush. The combo of the crush and my brother's mission location I think sparked my desire to learn the Deutscher. This was also a rather turbulent year for me. In the span of a few weeks that winter, I lost first the mother of one of my best friends, and then my paternal grandmother. Both to cancer.
8: That was a great birthday: my baptism, followed by watching a lunar eclipse with our big telescope. Had a great teacher in third grade -- she even came to one of my recitals. Started the "gifted" program in school, and through it met some more life-long friends, one of whom gave me a huge box of chocolates for Valentine's Day that year. I promise I haven't teased him about that in at least ten years.
9: Fourth grade. Met another life-long friend who's currently on a mission in Lithuania. We always said we would both go on missions and get called to the same place. Started playing in school orchestra.
10: Fifth grade. Third crush. Started to play in community youth orchestra.
11: Sixth grade. This was a year of lots of fun but also of change. My third crush crushed my heart. I finished elementary school. Suddenly having so many friends who were boys became an asset instead of just tomboyish.
12: Right before I turned twelve, we took a family vacation to the land downunder. It affected me a lot, although now I wish I could go back because I would appreciate and remember it in different ways as an adult. Seventh grade. Loved my teachers, especially the oper-loving geography teacher. And of course my life-long friend -- my orchestra teacher. Also a turbulent year in a very personal way: my dad's double bypass was a life-changing event for all of us.
13: Eighth grade was not my favorite. I had some great teachers (like my Scottish English teacher and my Italian math teacher), but others weren't that great and one in particular who was just plain awful. I learned that authority figures aren't always in the right. One of the best things about that year was that I started to take violin lessons with my favorite professor ever who also happened to look just like Jack Benny. Another best thing was meeting another life-long friend, Becky.
14: Ninth grade. Concertmaster of the school orchestra and the community orchestra, and high up there in regionals and right there with my sis in all-state. What a year. Went with the school orchestra to DC and solo'd with them in our concerts there. Also had infamous Doc Glock for English who in many ways was the first person to teach me how to write in ways that I was still using in grad school. And many other wonderful teachers.
15: Sophomore at the big high school. My sis moved to college over the summer, and the dog died. So I felt like I started high school alone. But, it was a great year. I solo'd with the high school symphony that year and was concertmaster. Met new people, forged new friendships, had awesome teachers who are still my friends now. Mrs. Nelson, our beloved English teacher, succombed to cancer at the end of that year, which bonded my group of friends even closer.
16: That summer I turned 16 in Germany. That was a great summer, and a great trip. German clicked for me while there, and I knew I wanted to keep learning it whatever I decided to major in. More importantly, I still have friends in Germany from that trip. Junior year was great. I went on my first date. I took great classes from again, awesome teachers. I took lots of AP tests. I was concertmaster of the chamber orchestra at school and of the regional orchestra, and was 4th at all-state. Everything was great that year. (Except I suppose for that scary and creepy almost-first-kiss moment. Shudder.)
17: I liked being 17, but this was a hard year for me. Lu&Moo were both gone at college. I had to decide where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to study, which was what all of my remaining friends were trying to do too. ACTs, SATs, scholarship apps. Everything worked out in the end, but there were some really tough times getting there. The end of the year was great: I solo'd with the chamber orchestra on Vivaldi, and with the symphony on Beethoven. I went to prom with one of my best friends, who is still one of my best friends. I got to breeze through some AP tests and prove a few people wrong. But the best part about senior year, and all of high school in fact, was that I became friends with my parents. They were amazing, and I will always cherish those special years we had together, just me and them. I remember one day in particular when my mom wasn't around, and I was dealing with a huge disappointment. I turned to my dad alone for the first time it seemed. One of my best memories of him, and there weren't even any words involved. Alright, tearing up so I must move on.
18: What a year. Headed for that BaYoU up north. Met all sorts of people right off the bat. My first semester I soaked it all up -- socializing til 2 am one night, studying til 5 am the next (or the same!), etc. Loved every minute of it. Even the heartbreak that followed the first semester. Met Linus the next semester. Loved my German profs. Introduced Linus to my parents!
19: Went to Vienna for the summer. Loved every minute of it, though I was also pining for Linus every minute of it. Made some life-long friends, one in particular. Traveled all around Western and central Europe. Came back to the FLSR (Foreign Language Student Residence). Loved that too, though Linus and I had a hard time finding places we could communicate in, since his German wasn't quite up to speed back then. Met Linus's family! (I was so impressed that they brought me flowers when they picked me up from the airport. So sweet!) Got engaged. Planned a wedding. Managed to keep my grades up. Learned all sorts of wonderful things in school, including that the violin faculty really sucked. But proved them wrong in a blind audition, after which suddenly they were all really nice to me.
20: Had a beautiful and memorable wedding day and honeymoon. Did the whole newly-wed crappy first apartment thing. Moved into a new place, which though a basement, was actually quite nice with great owners. Managed to keep getting good grades, despite various distractions.
21: Went to Vienna with my hubby, and we had all sorts of adventures up and down the continent. Did the whole senior year thing with an honors thesis attached that somehow didn't leave me insane. In fact, it left me with a desire to try out the musicology route. And so, after I graduated, we found ourselves on our way to Buckeye country.
22: Got to live with my parents that summer, and it was great to spend time with them before the big move. In Buckeye country, we stayed for a really fun month with my Katy-bird cousin and her family, before we found and moved into our own place. And I had an interesting, challenging, and fun first year in my master's program. Everything from Rock and Roll to Medieval Music to Arabic Music. And I finally found a violin professor of the same calibur as my old Jack Benny professor from my youth. That was a great year, though it definitely had its moments. Made many wonderful life-long friends.
23: Spent a great summer having fun with another cousin's family. I will always remember the time we spent together in their short time here, but especially the time we spent that summer. The second year of my master's was really hard on me physically and emotionally. I loved everything I learned and the research and writing I did, but not enough to want to continue for the PhD. I also lost three very important wise-old-men figures in my life: the prophet of my youth, my grandfather, and my violin professor. All within the span of two months. It was very hard for me amidst my thesis. This seems to be the year I discovered that I could have friends in my congregation, too, and I have since gained many life-long friends from church here as well as from school.
24: I graduated, edited a huge book for a family reunion, organized and attended the family reunion in the summer. I made jams and chili sauce and peach butter that summer. I was seminary teacher for the year, which was wonderful. I learned a lot from my students and my own preparation. I had a recital for my violin and piano students, which was a lot of fun. It seems like I've lost or am losing a lot of my friends this year to moves -- I've had several who have moved out of state or who are moving out of state. But, these are all life-long friends that I know I will always have even if I can't sit at their kitchen table with them any more.
25: I finally got a "real" job, even if it is temporary. It's a start. And I have a new instrument to play in my spare time. I'm planning a recital at some point this year -- maybe I'll have both violin and kamancheh numbers. And we're going to do a sing-along Messiah. I have many other projects to keep me busy (like laundry, for example). No really, some very exciting projects for my spare time. Life just keeps on moving along. I'm sure there are a lot of interesting things to come my way this year. The Lord guides my paths if I will take the steps.
3 comments:
Two thumbs up. I hope the next quarter is as good as the first.
Wonderful post.Papa
Thank you for the very entertaining "Reader's Digest" version of your life. I look forward to a more fleshed-out version some day in a novel. Mutti
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