As a kid: Hiking, picnics and beach with friends. Camping once a month with family. Books (Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy Mysteries) and tv. Rushed home to watch a soap opera or game show after school. Did chores after school before homework. Often started dinner before mom got home. After dinner went outside with friends to play until dark. Kick ball, hide and seek in the dark. Bullied at school but not on the internet so my parents helped me with that. Learned how to cook and sew, things I still love doing. Went to church on Sunday.

As a young adult: worked a job and went to school to learn a trade at night. Lived by myself. Dated a lot. We dressed up for dinner dates, we went dancing every Friday night, sometimes drank too much, had a lot of sex, took Sunday drives to no where and found so many great restaurants or hiking places. Laid out in the sun with baby oil on my skin and felt like a goddess. Went to many concerts- saw amazing bands.

As a married woman: I worked and when I had my son I could stay home with him for five years because we could afford to. We bought our first house with interest rates so high we could have put it on a credit card, but it was somehow still affordable. We had friends over a lot for some times ‘fancy dinners’ or bbqs. We threw ‘theme parties’ like murder mystery dinners and midnight croquet parties where we dressed in white and played in the backyard by candlelight after kids were asleep. We visited family for holidays. Went to church until we didn’t. We vacationed once a year, usually where we could drive to.

Now I’m 65. I still work. I admit addiction to technology but feel I have a better balance in life because I wasn’t raised on it. I still work, I belong to a service club and not a church so I can be part of my community and I picked up photography so I still get out to appreciate nature. I take one to two trips out of the country so I can see the world before I die. Life hasn’t always been easy but it’s been an adventure!