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Looking at other people's lives, it is inescapable fact that those with secure loving childhoods make the best choices. That sense of belonging in the world is irreplaceable if you don't get it from your carers.
Those of us who have effectively been orphaned since age 5 do not have that sense of security and safety and hope for the future that most people take for granted.
Life gave me lemons for sure, but I've found I can make great lemonade.
So the answer for me is Yes and No...in fact in a lot of ways, I feel like my life is only just starting, at nearly 50.
I didn't expect anything when I was younger, I was just trying to find my way. I was the first in the family to go to college and graduate. I married young and we helped each other along the way to grow up, not always at the same time. It's easier to take chances and be brave when there is a back up to catch you and some of our decisions reflect that.
We had a near miss with a train on railroad tracks years ago in Indiana when we were young. I have sometimes wondered if this life is really happening or if we never got farther than the train and it's all a dream I want to live.
Wow. I guess I've never asked myself that question. I honestly don't think I had any expectations, per se. I grew up in a small town and dreamt of traveling, but had no real life plan. My parents were hard working, honest, blue collar people who provided all the essentials, including a weeks vacation in the summer. But, they weren't able to guide me at all, and I have no memory of them asking what I might like to do with my life. So, I was 3/4 through my first college semester and ended up prego. Got married, had 3 amazing children.
My marriage was not healthy, after 8 years I got a job as a flight attendant. Best thing I ever did for myself. Scrapped enough cash away to divorce and support my babies. Remarried three years later, and my Prince Charming and I have been happily/healthily married for 8 years. Decided to go back to school for my RN after many years flying and seeing all the beauty this world has to offer.
Suddenly lost my oldest daughter at the tender age of 18, in March of 2011. As a mother, you are never the same. But I have to say, life has been grande, and that is genuine. So, although I never had any expectations, I feel like I'm pretty lucky. I try to be grateful for all the love I have, and have had in my life.
I really wanted marriage and a family, and I have been so blessed to have those things. There was a short period when I suspected I would never marry, and for years after I married I still couldn't believe I actually did. I've never regretted my choices in partner or having kids.
I came to full time working later. I didn't understand that I had a career until too far along to make a difference. I don't know what I expected exactly, but I thought I'd get a bit further along in my career.
But I don't have many regrets, except for some of my stupid actions along the way.
I met all of my expectations: I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
I met all of my expectations: I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.
I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.
Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.
I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear. I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat 400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.
I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.
I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.
Very funny. How did you think of so much stuff in include? That in itself is remarkable.
way past expectations of my youth
don't judge me by where I am but by how far I came
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