Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Meme Tuesday, bet you thought I forgot!

I almost forgot that it was meme Tuesday!  So, I decided I would do the ubiquitous “20,  15, 10, 5, 1 yrs ago what was I doing” meme.  First off, let me start by saying that my personal hero, My grandmother (my mom’s mom) died 22 yrs ago today, and that, needless to say, was a very bad summer.  It was the year I turned 17, and there were still so many things to come that I wish she was around for.  I still miss her and think of her nearly every day.  So, without further ado, let me start with:

20 years ago-I had graduated from High School, and had just become a manager at a McDonald’s in my hometown.  I was dating Kevin, who I had just caught cheating on me with a skank from the nuclear power plant where he worked.  He then proceeded to break up with me, and then stalk me jealously in turns for the next few weeks.  There was a hurricane very close to this time, and the power was out for nearly 2 weeks where my parents live.  Kevin’s parents were in Antigua or Cayman, or some such thing, so I stayed at his house while they were gone.  Within a year, I would be pregnant for the first time, and miscarry.  Within 2 years, I would have my first child.  

15 years ago- I was just returning to nursing school after a (way too) short break for the summer.  I was dating my first husband, “D,” who had just transferred to Norfolk, VA over the summer.  I was very much dreading going back to school, because of an instructor who had basically targeted me for destruction during the last clinical rotation before the summer break.  She very nearly succeeded, but the day we returned to nursing school, she announced that she was transferring to another program in another part of the state.  THANK GOD!  I don’t think I’d be a nurse right now if she had stayed.  “D” and I were engaged a month later, and we were married before the year was out.  

10 years ago- I was living in San Diego, and I was in the best shape of my life.  I had just lost 45 lbs by going on a nearly fat-free vegetarian diet, running and bodybuilding.  “D” and I had transferred to San Diego from Virginia Beach the previous winter.  I was taking off this entire year to try being a “stay-at-home” Mom, which was a disastrous experiment, both for me, and for the kids.  I decided I still didn’t want to take a nursing job, so I was working for Domino’s Pizza as a delivery driver, and taking classes through a UCSD transfer program for Pre-med.  Within a year, “D” and I would be talking about Divorce, within 2 years, I would have moved back to New England, I would lose my father, and I would be planning to move in with Rob.  

5 years ago- I was living with Rob in Massachusetts and we would start our search for a house this year.  Rob had just been hired back with Intel after a year and a half layoff.  We were doing pretty well, but were a little frustrated in our search for a house, since the prices were SKY HIGH!  I was working at a different Rehab facility not far from the one I am working at now, basically as a Per-Diem Nurse, also doing tons of agency work on the side.  I worked nearly 60-72 hours a week, evenings and night shifts.  Our son would start his first year in Public school this year.  

1 year ago-  I had just received the news that Rob and I needed to get married QUICK, or we wouldn’t be able to utilize Rob’s VA loan to buy our house.  We had fallen in love with our “Goombah” house, and were busily jumping through hoops in the mortgage process.  We married 3 days later at my best friend’s house in CT.  It felt different being married, it really did!  I think we both felt the difference.  My daughter had decided to come and stay with us for a year (she had been living with “D”) so she braced herself for a new school, which she would be leaving to start ANOTHER school in a few weeks when the closing on the house was final.  My oldest son had just returned to Mississippi, after spending the entire summer hooked up to IV antibiotics to treat Lyme Meningitis.  

Okay, so that is my meme for this Tuesday.  For some unknown reason, I agreed to work tonight and give up the sanctity that is my “Week off.”  Someone slap me.  

3 comments:

Gary said...

20 years ago I was three months old...

Christine said...

Great walk down memory lane! Good talking to you, as usual.

SillyBahrainiGirl said...

thanks for sharing..i wish i had things so organised in my mind..

i remember incidents but not dates..