Milestones
20th High School Reunion: 2006
ok, so i don't liek blogging about myself (feels liek i am bragging) but as i have now reached the "age of maturity" by the world's definition, i've come to appreciate my roots & my wings (liek a country song talks about) that were developed while attending high school in the arm-pit-of-the-world bUhL, iDaHo. it was here, at buhl high school with the highest teen pregnancy rate in the state of idaho, that my killer sense of humor (which was so kEy in attracting & marrying my wiLd, WiLd, wEsT) was forged. (yes, here, nOt in mOrdOr!) it was here i learned kindness, appreciation & respect go farther than verbal insults, excuses & harsh stereotypes which carried me through difficult classes & encounters at the U with individuals cOmpLeteLy oPpoSitE in their beliefs & opinions from mine. i learned my need to "discipline (myself) without complaining" (as one of my teachers cOnsTantLy reminded me!) without blaming others & it was here that i learned a gOoD fiLteR is critical in creating & maintaining a healthy self-esteem(that was the day my chemistry teacher lectured me for asking to attend a cheerleading meeting that my advisor scheduled during his classtime by telling me i was a "LoSeR", "sTupiD", and "nEveR gOiNg tO gO aNywHerE iN tHis LiFe") . . . i should've mailed him my graduation announcement;)at my 20 yr class reunion, i realized i had these amazing women (& others not present in this photo) to thank for their examples of friendship, kindness & laughter. harsh words and actions were forgiven & forgotten and replaced with a genuine concern & appreciation for the part we had each played in our personal lives. (left to right: carrie (working on pHd in colorado), liz (archelogist, wife, mother of 19yr old son, & now electrician studying for her journey man's exam in oregon), me & pam(wife to the wEirDeSt kid in our high school class & teacher in boise, idaho). thank gOoDnEsS i wasn't given nOrMaL friends;)
some say 40 is the old age of youth & the youth of old age. i say (liek my niece ashley says) they're a bunch of dUmB mOrOnS!
getting old sucks, i'll be honest! i had been dReaDing this birthday more than any other . . . everywhere i went i got the often quoted & laughed at & sTupiD cliches: 'you're only as old as you feel', 'you're 40 years young', 'it's all a state of mind' . . . it's aLL a bUnCh of cRap & a socially accepted opportunity/ritual to fling humiliating insults/gems of truth& reality(?) at individuals we feel threatened by & jealous of (just liek any gOoD hard fought political campaign!)in my deny council at the U, the assist dean (whom i have forced into having a friendship with me because i have pested him for 3 yrs with admissions questions, who has shared his law school admissions story & other personal stories with me over the years & whom advised me to extend my bachelor's graduation to complete my honors degree for law school) had the aRrogAncE to tell me that my personal statement for law school was "iNmAtuRe" for "sOmEoNe Of my agE"?! (he is about my age!)why is it that just because i am successful at avoiding & cheating myself out of an early death by living to 40 that suddenly eVeRyoNe eXpeCts wiSdoM to ooze out of my mouth in eVeRy sTatEment to guide them?! liek anyone listened to me bEfOrE i achieved the crowing-glory & ripe-old-age of 40?! & why should i have to nOw worry about wearing clothes that are always 'agE aPprOpRiaTe'? i know aLoT more 20 & 30 somethings that should worry about this one because they want to wander around naked liek they are still 2 or 3 years old!
instead of being insulted by all of these individuals, i decided to be mAtUrE & see their attempts for what they were: a compliment! at least i've learned the mOsT iMpoRtaNt lesson in this life in my short 40 years (while others sTiLL haven't learned it in 80!) thank goodness that with all my mAtUre responsibilities that i can sTiLL rEmeMbeR hOw (& dO) behave inmaturily as often as i can! . . . we'll see who is sTiLL around in aNoThEr 40 years & who has died of a mAtUre (sTrEsS) related heartattack;) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LiVe LoNg & pRospEr
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