101 Posts ... 101 Things About Me

From the comment Anglophile Football Fanatic left yesterday on my "Milestone" 100th Post Haiku, I gathered something specific was expected. I checked her blog a few minutes ago and discovered a list of 100 things about her on HER 100th post. It's 6:36 in the evening as I start this list, so I don't expect to complete it tonight. I figure it will be a "work in progress" until I finish, and that will have to be good enough. I suspect it's already more than anyone care to know, but what the hay? It's a Meme and I'm obsessive!

1. I'm an avid reader of all kinds of books and my house resembles a library with large bookshelves in every room. The margins of most contain notes and questions written in pencil as I read them.
2. I live a block and a half from the Pacific Ocean. I love to fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the surf.
3. My front yard is small, but I have lots of flowers and two prolific citrus trees ... a Meyer lemon and a Bartender lime. I spent several months "reclaiming" it in 2005 and shared the process in 4 parts ... here, here, here, and here.
   
4. I awaken early every day and watch the sun rise from the comfort of my living room as I write in my journal and spend time in meditation.
   
5. I enjoy the large fireplace in that room all winter.
6. Molly is my 3 year-old Labrador Retriever pup. She's a bundle of energy, cute as can be, keeps me active, and is great company most of the time. I've written a Haiku about her and posted photos throughout my blogs. You can click on Molly in the 'About Me (Two & Four) category lists in my sidebar, "labels" (under individual posts) or here & here to find them.
   
7. Ms. Kitty is the feral cat who adopted me more than a decade ago. She was the subject of a Haiku also and her pictures can be found in the same manner as described in #6.
   
8. I'm an avid tennis fan, especially of the 4 yearly Grand Slam Championship and the Olympics when it comes around.
   
9. My older brother taught me to play when I was 12 so that he'd have someone to practice with when no one else was around. In addition, he taught me to water-ski about the same time so that he & his friends would always have an "observer" when they wanted to ski.
   
10. I played the game competitively in college and for fun through most of my life, but don't play any longer.
    
11. After 34 years in the classroom, I took advantage of a "golden handshake" in 2001 and have been "happily retired" ever since. ... enjoying my leisurely life immensely.
12. I was the youngest of 3 children, raised in a conservative Dutch family.
13. My brother was 9 and my sister 4 when I arrived on the scene, much to everyone's surprise! Let's hear it for unplanned babies!!!
14. A precocious child, I did everything early and never quite realized I wasn't as old as my siblings or my classmates. I started kindergarten at the age of 4 and graduated High School just as I turned 16.
15. I was an English major with a History minor in college and earned a teaching credential with a 5th year of study, so I was teaching at the age of 21.
16. Because I thrive on challenge and don't like to do the same thing repeatedly, I changed grade levels frequently throughout my career.
17. Approximately 20 years were spent in grades 2 through 6, another 4 years teaching adults who were working with children (teachers, administrators, classroom aides, and parent volunteers), and the rest teaching 6th and 8th grade History and Language arts in a Middle School setting. In addition I spent 5 years teaching Graduate students in the evenings who were seeking teaching credentials.
18. I participated in the South Basin Writing Project's Invitational Program at CSULB.
    
19. The 4 years I worked as a Staff Developer brought many challenges and wonderful opportunities to meet & collaborate with educational "gurus" like Larry Lowrey, David Perkins, Art Costa, and many others on the cutting edge of change in the 1980s and '90s.
20. I conducted workshops on a wide range of topics including but not limited to: Teaching for Thinking, Teacher Expectation and Student Achievement, Writing as a Process, Teaching for Creativity, Using Collaborative Groups in the Classroom, Motivational Theory, Effective Teaching Strategies, Classroom Management, Personality Types, Brain Hemisphericity, Active Engagement Strategies, and a variety of ways to use Technology in the Classroom.
21. I "trained" a number of student teachers to follow in my footsteps ... some more successfully than others.
22. After retiring, I was invited to do a number of "teaching related" jobs ... conducting workshops, supervising student teachers, writing curriculum, mentoring teachers, etc. ... but I felt finished with that part of my life and still do.
    
23. I gave away all the teaching materials I had accumulated so that others could use them with their students.
    
24. I never thought I'd leave the profession so young, but feel blessed at the way my life has turned out even though much didn't go as planned.
    
25. When I was 12 I met the guy I eventually married (11 years later when I was 23) at an Methodist Youth Fellowship Valentine's Day party. We were paired for a "scavenger hunt" with heart-shaped name tags and his half matched mine.
    
26. We dated off and on through Junior High & High School, didn't see much of one another throughout College, but reconnected once we were both adults in the work force and started singing in a folk group with about 7 other friends.
27. He was drafted and sent to Vietnam at the age of 25 where he spent 13 months near Ben Hoa.
    
28. We married in Hawaii on his R & R ... spending just 5 days together before he returned to Vietnam for 5 months.
    
29. He returned home on Christmas Day in 1968, and we spent the next 21 years together living a wonderful life until he decided he wanted his freedom and left unexpectedly.
30. My father died of cancer when I was 30.
31. Never really "fat" but always "chunky" or "pleasingly plump" ... I joined Gloria Marshall's and went from a size 16 to an 8 within a year ... staying that way for almost a decade ... loving the "look" but hating the high protein, low carbohydrate "diet" it took to keep me that size.
32. At 40 I joined Weight Watchers, learned to eat healthily, and maintained a healthier weight at a size 12 for 15 years.
    
33. My mom died of an aneurysm when I was 44, shortly before my "ex" left.
34. The next few years brought an unbelievable "mix" of experiences I didn't see coming but that set the stage for my current life.
35. After listening to a good friend (a single mom with 3 daughters) talk for months (on our morning walks at the beach before work 3 days weekly) about wanting to return to school for a degree, I invited the 4 of them to move into the large home I was struggling financially to hold on to in the divorce.
36. The girls were 10, 11, and 13 when they moved in, and since that time I've often thought about how prayer gets answered ... for after my "ex" left (in my devastated sorrow at finding myself alone) I prayed often for answers. God does work in mysterious ways. She didn't save my marriage as I'd hoped, but the last 19 years have been rich indeed with unlooked for blessings.
37. L and the girls stayed for several years before moving on. I managed to hold on to the house (that was filled with life, love, and laughter as I healed) and she got her education. We remain good friends still.
    
38. I grew up in a family of asthmatics, but was incredibly healthy myself ... in fact I missed no school from Kindergarten through 12th grade and received an award for perfect attendance at graduation.
    
39. My excellent health continued until the early '90s when I experienced an unusual string of illnesses. As soon as one would pass, another would appear.
    
40. Eventually after about a year of treatment and endless blood tests, I was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr and missed the last 3 months of the semester ... spending those months and the 3 months of summer that followed in bed.
41. Told by doctors I probably wouldn't be able to return to teaching, I did what I had always done ... set about to do the "impossible" through sheer determination. With a lot of support from friends, I learned to do things differently ... and was able to teach for many additional years.
42. I have no kids of my own because my "ex" believed he'd already raised a family and I didn't choose to "parent" alone. He was 14 when his parents divorced and was responsible for looking after his two younger brothers while his Mom supported the family as a waitress working long hours once they moved to California from Minnesota.
    
43. I rationalized this throughout life by telling myself I had anywhere from 30 to 90 kids each year ... the students with whom I worked ... and my life seemed rich and full.
    
44. In retrospect, I have mixed feelings ... but I am relieved I wasn't a single parent of teenagers (having watched L struggle in the way she did to balance everything).
    
45. I have 2 nieces & 2 nephews on my "ex's" side of the family but I don't see much of them because their parents each divorced when the kids were young and they don't live nearby.
46. I have 4 nephews on my side of the family ... 2 born to my brother and his wife and 2 adopted by my sister and her husband.
47. Each of my brother's sons is married and has children ... so I'm a Great Aunt to 5 kids ... 3 girls and 2 boys.
48. My brother's kids are in their 40s and that's hard to fathom ... seriously!!! I don't know where the years have gone.
    
49. I'm always surprised at family gatherings to realize that I am "the older generation" ... and my sister & I laugh about this because we both feel so young within. It makes me wonder how my Aunts and Uncles felt when they were my age.
50. In my mid-40s while coping with the lost of my mom and marriage, I often felt 17 ... not quite legal. I have stories I could tell about those days ... but not here & now. LOL
51. These days I feel somewhere between 45 and 50 even though I'll be 63 on my next birthday in February. I understand Einstein's Theory of Relativity so much better now.
    
52. When I look at beginning teachers (and doctors) today they seem like adolescents and I wonder if I looked like that too?
    
53. When I was born, my dad was ill and out of work but didn't want my mom to get a job so we didn't have much. We got by with help from family, friends, and the church ... but at the time I didn't realize how poor we were.
54. As a little tyke, I loved having my daddy around to play with. Although there aren't many pictures of me when I was little, I do have a couple of photographs of him teaching me to turn a sommersault when I was about 2 or 3 and he was in his mid-40s. He encouraged my imaginative play and even made me a "horse" to ride around our yard. After reminding me to "hold on tight" he'd push me as high as I wanted to go in the huge swing he built in our back yard ... worrying my mom every time.
    
55. Dad was the 2nd youngest in a family of 13 kids and mom the youngest in a family of 5 kids so my extended family was large. My cousins had kids my age and older. As I type this, I seem to remember writing of this elsewhere, but I'm not sure where. Perhaps I'll search for the link and add it later. (see #60 below)
    
56. About the time I went to school, dad got a job as a "maintenance electrician" in a rubber plant that produced things like battery cases. It was dangerous, dirty work ... and he often arrived home covered in coal dust from his head to his toes. I remember him looking like Al Jolson in black face (wearing overalls rather than a suit), changing clothes and washing up at the huge sink on the inside "back porch" before Mom would let him inside. He often got called back to work in the middle of the night when one of the "Banbury" (I have no idea what those are or how it's spelled but I hated them) machines broke down.
57. He played catch most evenings in the backyard with my brother, sister and I after dinner ... wiped down the car until it shone on Sunday mornings before we left for church as a family ... and stood outside the side door after services shaking the hand of all who passed by, exchanging a kind word, thanking them for coming and wishing them well in the coming week.
    
58. He was a numismatist (coin collector for those of you unfamiliar with the term) and an avid baseball fan. I enjoyed both activities with him throughout his life. We would spend hours looking through mounds of change for the coins to complete his rather extensive and well-organized collection while listening to baseball games on the radio .. often two at a time since he followed the Dodgers and the Angels.
    
59. Dad was 10 years older than mom ... aged 42 when I was born. His father lived to be 105 and his siblings well into their late 90s. It was a shock to everyone when he died at 73 just a couple of years after he retired and my folks moved from Southern California to Tempe, AZ to be near my brother and his family. There's no doubt in my mind that his early demise was due to the work he did to support his family. Did I mention I loved my dad ... and grieved mightily when he died?
    
60. I've written memories of my mom here in Monday Musings and of my extended family in Over the River and Through the Woods.
61. My brother (an asthmatic) wanted to be a pilot. He talked my parents into allowing him to enlist in the Air Force at 17 and entered Basic Training in the Bay Area during the winter when the climate was cold and damp.
    
62. He wound up in the hospital with pneumonia and bronchitis multiple times over a period of almost a year and received a medical discharge before his 18th birthday. My parents were instructed to come get him and told he wasn't expected to live.
63. D was even more determined than me. Although he was ill much of his adult years and underwent multiple lung surgeries, he enjoyed a full life ... participating in bowling leagues and water-sking with friends in his 20s through 40s, supporting himself as a messenger and then a draftsman as he went to College nights, became an Electrical and Civil Engineer ... working on many significant development projects throughout his life in California and Arizona (including the Fashion Island/Newport Center complex in Orange County), was City Engineer in a variety of communities during his career, and of course married and raised a family ... all before he died 15 days before his 65th birthday.
    
64. He is survived by his widow, two sons (both married with families), 5 grandchildren all born after his death, my sister and myself.
    
65. My sister and I became good friends once we were adults and no longer shared a bedroom.
    
66. We took two extended vacations together once we were both teachers ... spending 13 weeks during the summer of 1966 driving around the U.S.A. in her Plymouth Barracuda and 12 weeks touring 10 European countries together in 1967.
    
67. Our plans to spend the summer of 1968 visiting either Asia or South American got "tabled" when we each married that summer instead ... her in June and me in July.
68. B spent most of her career teaching Kindergarten and 1st grade, but opted to stay home from 1980-1990 to raise their two adopted boys.
69. After her husband was laid off, she returned to teaching and he stayed home with the kids ... volunteering in their classrooms and eventually was hired part time by a local school district to do computer training. Finally that turned into a full-time position.
    
70. Their oldest son was an academic "whiz kid" who graduated from Harvey-Mudd University with a BA in Computer Science and earned his Masters Degree at UC Berkeley. He lives and works in the Bay Area currently.
71. Their younger son is a gifted performer in musical theater. He graduated from a local School of the Performing Arts, worked abroad for a year afterwards, earned roles in a number of community theater projects locally and in Sacramento, and opened on Broadway in the revival of Flower Drum Song before he was 21 after which he toured the nation with the cast of Thoroughly Modern Millie. When he's not performing he supplements his income as a Barista at Starbucks and/or as a waiter in variety of restaurants.
    
72. After I retired, I volunteered in my sister's Kindergarten class twice a week and enjoyed it thoroughly. I did all of her one-on-one testing and taught writing as a process to small groups.
    
73. When she and her husband retired a few years back, they bought a truck and 5th wheel RV, intending to spend 2-3 years "on the road" seeing the U.S.A. They're currently spending the winter in Floria with no plans to return any time soon. A highlight of their travels was the 31 days they spent with a "caravan RV tour" in Alaska the summer of 2006, but they've covered lots of territory in the past few years.
    
74. I've done my share of traveling over the years and have taken two cruises ... one to Alaska and the other to the Caribbean.
75. In the late summer of 2001 I attended the Maui Writer's Conference intending to pursue a 2nd career. I made "connections" with editors and publishers who were interested in my writing and returned home with appointments scheduled for September and October.
    
76. The tragedy of 9-11 in 2001 interrupted those plans and for about two years afterwards I found myself unable to write without becoming depressed and anxious, so I didn't try to reschedule the canceled appointments. Instead I pursued a variety of other interests.
    
77. Let's see ... with 23 items left I need to pause and think about what's worth sharing (or go back and delete some of the earlier information). I belonged to two book clubs for a few years and enjoyed the mental stimulation, but when the time devoted to discussion shifted to "social interaction" I opted out of both because it was irritating to invest time reading books I wouldn't necessarily choose myself with minimal interaction afterwards.
    
78. I taught myself to research & "trade stocks" and did that "full time" for a few years. These days I do more investing and less trading ... probably because I spend so much time blogging.
79. I'm a "recovering pack-rat" doing my best each day to "simplify my life" ... hoping to get rid of "stuph" I've accumulated over the years.
80. I have an extensive collection of silver and white gold jewelry and prefer it to anything made of yellow gold.
81. I go for "comfort" over style ... especially when it comes to shoes. My favorite brands currently are Keen, Think, Merrill, Mephisto, and UGG (boots and sandals). When I worked I wore mostly SAS and Naturalizer shoes.
82. My wardrobe is primarily from Chicos and Soma, but since have more than enough of just about everything ... I don't shop for anything other than groceries these days.
    
83. I'm a member of the Red Hat Society and enjoy dressing up in a variety of purple clothes and donning one of the many outrageous red hats in my collection when it's time to get together with other "hatters." We always have fun wherever we go.
84. My experiences this past summer in Taos, New Mexico at the Writer's Spa Retreat paved the way for me to enter the Blogosphere. I've written of it here, here, and in the sidebar of my blogs..
    
85. I feel blessed to have supportive family members and friends in my life who may not understand the writer in me, but recognize and value who she is (and might become) ... mirroring that part of me so I can see her potential also. I wouldn't be blogging currently without their encouragement.
86. Kara got me started even as she's decided to take an extended break from blogging herself after two years in this virtual world, Karen visits often and keeps me going, and Jan (my writer's buddy) calls weekly on Sunday mornings from Minnesota. We use that time to "check in" ... discuss process ... and set new goals for the week ahead.
    
87. I've written in journals daily for decades to gain personal clarity. I write with both hands and have shared a bit of this process, including examples from those journals here, here, here, and here (among other places).
88. In addition to writing in journals, I create "visual" pieces of writing and have posted a sampling on each of my blogs. I've framed many of these and given them away as gifts over the years ... once thought I might sell them at craft fairs, but now think they might make an interesting book or two at some point.
    
89. I became a student of A COURSE IN MIRACLES in the late 1980s and am grateful for the changes it brought to my perception and the deepening of my Spiritual life. I've written about this in greater detail here.
    
90. The writings of Don Miguel Ruiz expanded my understanding in a simplified form and I heartily recommend the entire series starting with THE FOUR AGREEMENTS. I've written about this in greater detail previously here.
91. Some additional writers whose work informs my life include (but are not limited to) Gary Zukav, Marianne Williamson, Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Thich Nhat Hanh, Stephen Covey, Anne Wilson Schaef, Joan Borysenko, Christianne Northrup, Sarah Ban Breathnach, Barbara Sher, among others.
    
92. I do my best to live mindfully each day and write of gratitude often. A couple of examples that reveal a bit more about who I am include Living in Gratitude (especially when problems arise) and So Many Blessings -- Counting One by One.
    
93. I participated in NaBloPoMo and Holidailies on both of my blogs, but decided to do Blog 365 here at Small Reflections leaving me free to post only when I choose to do so at Sacred Ruminations. This past week is the 1st time I've let a few days pass without posting there.
    
94. Although I may appear to be somewhat addicted to Blogthings, I tend to use them when I run out of energy, inspiration, or time as a means to maintain my Blog 365 commitment.
    
95. I enjoy writing and reading Haiku on Fridays and T-13s on Thursdays because it's a wonderful way to meet other bloggers.
    
96. I appreciate all visitors who take the time to comment, and I try to respond to everyone in a timely manner here in addition to visiting their blogs as time and energy permit.
    
97. After 100 posts at Sacred Ruminations (in lieu of THIS meme), I created list things I'm proud of and forgive myself for (as a blogger) here.
    
98. I've been tagged for at least 3 more memes recently (and sincerely hope I don't get tagged again for a long time), but intend to wait a while before sharing anything more about myself because I sense there's more in this list already than anyone cares to read about me. However, if the previous 97 things (with various links) aren't adequate to satisfy your curiosity, I offer a few more links below.
    
99. I've participated in several memes previously (including, but not limited to) 7 Random Things about Me ... 12 Christmasy Things About Me ... Playful P's and Varied V's with Verse.
100. I've shared a series of Five Really Good Things here, here, and here.
     
101. I did a few "Review" posts/memes (including, but not limited to) my Monday's Blog Review for 2007 ... Small is Beautiful Top 7 in '07 ... and two Hybrid Haiku Memes here and here.

Whew! It's 12:16 PM on Sunday, February 3rd, but I'm finished ... finally! It seems the last 15 (#84-99) proved to be the most challenging, possibly because I lost momentum when I caught this flu/cold bug last Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement along the way. I might have given up and dumped the post entirely, but it didn't seem right to dump your comments with it ... so I waited until inspiration hit again and pushed through to the end today.

If you've reached your 100th post at your blog and haven't created your list yet ... consider yourself tagged (or not)! LOL