Another Year....

Fifty-eight years old...where has the time gone? I still don't feel like I have that many years behind me. In fact, there are days I think I'm still in my 20s!!! And I certainly do not look like the 58-year-old women portrayed on TV...no gray hair (and no salon hair color, thank you very much!) In fact, my hair seems to be getting blonder!  My face has few more wrinkles...and it sags a little under the chin. My joints do not ache too much...but it IS difficult getting up from the floor. (YUK!) Yeah, I am carrying around a few too many pounds...but I am still working on that. And this spring, I became a PWD - person with diabetes.  (And I am working hard to reverse that!) And then, I catch a glance of my reflection in a mirror or window and I wonder "who is that old woman?".Where has the time gone? That's the question I ask each year...

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The past 58 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 college transferring, I met some truly amazing people. But much to my regret, I did not make those really "close" college friends that follow you through life. 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 MacDaddy's jobs. Together, MacDaddy 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 love their family, love their country, and, most importantly, they love God. They are all self-sufficient! And in the past couple of years, two of them have married wonderful young women...the kind for whom we have been praying since the day they were born! For what more could a mother ask?

I have made some wonderful friends in my life...the kind that you might not see very often, but you always pick right up where the conversation last ended. These are those wonderful people with whom  I "do life". I have also deepened my friendship with my sister. Having her live just a couple of hours away has truly been a blessing! And I have made some wonderful friends in the world of blogging. Now this, I find amazing! The women I have met "here" have been so encouraging...even more so than my family!!! Meeting up with several of them has been a joy. And there are some I so look forward to meeting in person, one of these days (JM...you hear that?)
Through my 58 years, I have held many different jobs...I have been a speaker on many diverse topics, a youth group leader, an administrative assistant for a HUGE youth program, a Bible teacher (never thought I could do this!), a craft instructor, a designer, an artist, a wedding planner, a party and event planner, a fundraiser, the team mom for many sports teams, and a sales and marketing consultant with three separate companies. I've even been on TV!  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, for the past year, I have been concentrating totally on my painting. I have found fulfillment in doing this. And I have actually sold quite a few paintings. Most importantly, I LOVE painting...and creating. I find it to be relaxing, motivating, satisfying, frustrating...well, you get the idea. Now, I need to see how far I can go with this passion. Who knows...    

Have I grown up? Who knows. Will I find a new passion? Well...I guess that will be determined as I move throughout my life.  After all, life is a journey...........and I am going to enjoy the trip!

Happy Birthday to me!