Whew! 57 years and counting.
Today is my 57th birthday. I say the words but I do not comprehend how I got to this point in my life. Oh, yeah...one day at a time. Slow but sure...and all that jazz. I have to say that the ride has been pretty good.
As I look back over my life, I have had the privilege to do many things. I started out in a wonderful loving home with two of the most amazing people as my parents. I lived on a farm in the hills of West Virginia - and if you didn't already know- it's almost heaven. I married a marine and in the first seventeen years of my "adult" life we moved about once a year. I lived in many different states, made many friends & raised a family. I enjoyed the military life. In California, I worked in an insurance claims office filing and general office work then I decided to stay home and babysit. I made $25 a week and took care of 3 babies. In the late 70's, we thought $75 a week extra was a lot of money. I took art classes at night. My first child was born while living in California. The next stop was New Jersey where my second child was born. I worked in a little dress boutique in Browns Mills. The owner took me with her on buying trips and introduced me to the world of fashion. Then we moved to southern West Virginia where I was hired as a bridal consultant. The bridal shop was located in the mall and I had to work evenings and weekends. Since I wanted my evenings and weekends to be home with my family, I began to look for another job. I was employed at a local radio station as a budding news reporter. Another station in town heard me and offered me a job as a disc jockey. So off I went chasing dreams I didn't even know I had. I stayed in radio for the next 20 years. I moved around the country filling the shoes of news reporter, disc jockey, music director, promotions director, assistant program director, & program director. Then I moved from programming to sales. I started out as a sales accountant, then sales manager and finally general manager. By this time, I had my third child and had moved several times and even attended college for broadcast journalism. In 1990 I became a single mom with three girls to raise. I moved back to WV to be near my family. I continued to work in both radio and television until the mid 90's. Then I met Mr Wonderful and have been blissfully happy ever since. I spend my time reupholstering furniture, painting, writing, making speciality cakes, and floral arrangements. I do both seasonal decorating and interior decorating. I enjoy gardening, traveling, journaling, and speaking to women's groups. I teach bible studies and sunday school.
Now there is one thing I want to make clear. I had no experience or qualifications for any of the jobs I had when I started. One thing my parents taught me was that I could do anything that I wanted to do. Mother told me that if there was anything that I didn't think I could do, there was always a book about the subject that would teach me what I needed to know. THAT - my dear friends - is how I came to be who I am today. I do not know the word "NO", which sometimes leads me into water over my head, but I run to the library, and voila, I learn how to swim. I am still learning new things that I can do that I never thought possible. No matter how old you are, it's never too late to become whatever it is that you want to be.
As I look back over my life, I have had the privilege to do many things. I started out in a wonderful loving home with two of the most amazing people as my parents. I lived on a farm in the hills of West Virginia - and if you didn't already know- it's almost heaven. I married a marine and in the first seventeen years of my "adult" life we moved about once a year. I lived in many different states, made many friends & raised a family. I enjoyed the military life. In California, I worked in an insurance claims office filing and general office work then I decided to stay home and babysit. I made $25 a week and took care of 3 babies. In the late 70's, we thought $75 a week extra was a lot of money. I took art classes at night. My first child was born while living in California. The next stop was New Jersey where my second child was born. I worked in a little dress boutique in Browns Mills. The owner took me with her on buying trips and introduced me to the world of fashion. Then we moved to southern West Virginia where I was hired as a bridal consultant. The bridal shop was located in the mall and I had to work evenings and weekends. Since I wanted my evenings and weekends to be home with my family, I began to look for another job. I was employed at a local radio station as a budding news reporter. Another station in town heard me and offered me a job as a disc jockey. So off I went chasing dreams I didn't even know I had. I stayed in radio for the next 20 years. I moved around the country filling the shoes of news reporter, disc jockey, music director, promotions director, assistant program director, & program director. Then I moved from programming to sales. I started out as a sales accountant, then sales manager and finally general manager. By this time, I had my third child and had moved several times and even attended college for broadcast journalism. In 1990 I became a single mom with three girls to raise. I moved back to WV to be near my family. I continued to work in both radio and television until the mid 90's. Then I met Mr Wonderful and have been blissfully happy ever since. I spend my time reupholstering furniture, painting, writing, making speciality cakes, and floral arrangements. I do both seasonal decorating and interior decorating. I enjoy gardening, traveling, journaling, and speaking to women's groups. I teach bible studies and sunday school.
Now there is one thing I want to make clear. I had no experience or qualifications for any of the jobs I had when I started. One thing my parents taught me was that I could do anything that I wanted to do. Mother told me that if there was anything that I didn't think I could do, there was always a book about the subject that would teach me what I needed to know. THAT - my dear friends - is how I came to be who I am today. I do not know the word "NO", which sometimes leads me into water over my head, but I run to the library, and voila, I learn how to swim. I am still learning new things that I can do that I never thought possible. No matter how old you are, it's never too late to become whatever it is that you want to be.
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