Happy Birthday to me!

Fifty-six years old...how did I get here so fast? I don't feel like I have that many years under my belt. And I certainly do not look like the 56-year-old women portrayed on TV...no gray hair (and no salon hair color, thank you very much!). My face has few wrinkles, thanks to Kara Vita skin care. My joints do not ache, thanks to SwissJust. Yeah, I am carrying around a few too many pounds...but I am working on that.

Where has the time gone? That's the question I ask each year...
The past 55 years began with the usual growing up years: school and all the activities which go along with that...then college (3 of them...Mercer, FSU, and USF). With all the transferring, I met some truly amazing people, but much to my regret, I did not have those really "close" college friends . I married a wonderful man, taught bright young kindergarten and first grade children for several years, then began to have my own brood. I worked hard to settle our family into many different communities as we moved with Hubby's jobs. Together, Hubby and I raised three incredible sons. Thanks to our unorthodox education plan...home school, plus private school, plus public school, plus college...our sons have learned to think for themselves - outside the proverbial box. Each has chosen his own path...not the roads I always "thought" they would take. But how could I ever expect anything differently from my boys? They have a love of family, of their country, and, most importantly, of God. And they are self-sufficient! What more could a mother ask?

Through the 55 years, I have held many different jobs...speaker, youth group leader, administrative assistant for a BIG youth program, Bible teacher (never thought I could do this!), craft instructor, designer, artist, wedding and event planner, fundraiser, team mom for many sports teams, and a sales and marketing consultant with three separate companies. Some of these jobs paid, some were strictly voluntary. As my nest emptied, I approached the next life question many of us ask: What do I want to be when I grow up? Well...I guess that will be the question I will answer in my 60s. In the meantime, I just plan to enjoy the life God has given me.

Happy Birthday to me!