Today was our school's decade dance. For those of you living in Texas, schools here out west have dances regularly starting in middle school. They're not really dances- all the kiddos do is just jump around and make congo-lines at inappropriate times. The boys try to push each other down, the girls cluster together on the sidelines and giggle. During the slow songs the dance floor clears out and some of the girls dance with each other, while the boys elbow each other and shove one another out on the dance floor. Basically it's awesome, non-stopped hilarity.
The theme of the dance was "decades." They played a mix of music from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and the past decade. It was fun, but made me feel old to realize that such timeless classics as "Hit me baby" and "If you wanna be my lover" are now considered oldies. Was I really in high school that long ago? Yikes. This also was a blaring reminder of my 10 year KHS reunion which I am purposefully avoiding due to the fact that I am not willing to admit that 10 years of my life have slipped by without my consent. Instead I will be spending the first 2 weeks of June in Europe. This might sound pretentious, but remember- I don't have kids. This is a fact that usually frustrates me and makes me very angry or sad, but on the rare occasion actually makes me a tiny bit happy- such as when I was shopping for Paris tours and had to decide between a day trip to Versaille or Normandy and realized I could never take a 15 mile biking tour of Versailles if I had to lug around a little one.
Anyway, I love everyone I went to KHS with, but I am still in touch with most of my good friends (thanks to the miracle of blogger.com and facebook), and I'll never have a chance to have free lodging in England again.
So here's to growing older and growing up. In the theme of decades, here's the highlights of my last 10 years. It's kind of long, but this is mostly just for my personal records so don't feel obligated to read this all.
1999- first serious relationship, graduated from high school, started BYU, worked for a toy store, a drug store, and 8 a.m. custodial in the Desperate Towers. Learned to drive in my first car, a 1987 black Ford Escort hatchback named Gigolo McBean aka Jiggy.
2000- turned 18, got my first credit card, enjoyed being young and irresponsible, worked for BYU's Eyring Science Center Custodial at 4 am, The BYU book store at 7 am, and BYU catering services. Road trip to Vegas with college roommates. Started taking anti-depressants and going to counseling.
2001- regretted some of the choices I made in 2000 and took a 6 month haitus from BYU to sort some things out in California. Worked as a courier for an Ad agency, BYU's Creamery, took art classes (planning on pursuing a degree in studio art), but felt spiritually prompted to do English Teaching instead thus fulfilling a prophecy made by my step-mom when I was 17. In Sept. I started working at BYU's law building doing custodial from 10pm-2 am. To date my favorite job. Dyed my hair bottle blond and discovered fashion. Got approved as one of 50 out 375 candidates to BYU's English teaching program.
2002- Got friendly with one of the custodial staff who hooked me up on a blind date with his buddy from church, a VERY handsome latino named Luis. Took a trip in the summer to visit home (Texas) for the first time since summer 2000's disasterous vacation. Shared an apartment with my friend Shasta and enjoyed being young and in love (Luis and I spent an hour on the phone every night for 2 months). Returned to Utah in July just in time for the birth of my step-son. Rocked the socks off of my professors and discovered I wanted to teach ESL instead of G/T English. Broke up with Luis. Got to gether with Luis. Broke up with Luis again. Briefly entertained the idea of reuniting with an old flame but thought better of it.
2003- turned 21. Spent the first 4 months of the year trying to convince myself I was no longer in love with Luis. Unsuccessful. Miraculously instructed through divine intervention to reconsider our relationship. Reunited with Luis on April 12th (or 14th). Got engaged to Luis on May 12th after he returned from a 3 week visit to Mexico (in case you didn't catch that, we were dating for a week before he left. He proposed the night he got back). Got married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 19th- a Tuesday. Started student teaching on Sept. 9th. Barely survived the remainder of the year commuting to West Jordan daily on 5 hours of sleep in blizzards.
2004, turned 22. Graduated. Took a "temporary" job at Life Skills to earn some money while Luis finished school. Started taking Andrei during the week (Th-Sun) to help with bills. Decided to "try" for a little one of our own. Luis graduated in Dec. Sold Jiggy in Nov.
2005- Luis hired at Wells Fargo, bought our first house on 300 West in Provo (800 square feet of marital bliss!), got our first dog Bella, started a coop day care with some other young mom's in the ward, got called to my first leadership position (in RS presidency). Briefly quit Life Skills but couldn't handle the monotony of staying home with nothing to do on Andrei's days with his mom.
2006- Got promoted to be the Programming Director of Life Skills (over 12 other employees who were more senior in age and experience... gulp!). Started attending the Spanish language ward. Quit Life Skills and went to work for Dixon Middle School. Got called to be Primary Music Leader. Nearly lost my mind due to late nights at work and never ending professional development meetings.
2007- Started Clomid. 6 failed cycles later vowed I would never take Clomid again! Took the world's longest and most traumatic road trip ever to Mexico. Finished my first year of teaching. Started my second year of teaching in my vastly superior class-room. Rented house number 1 and purchased house number 2. Enjoyed using the hot tub during the winter months. Spent Christmas with my family for the first time in my married life. Started 2 years of ESL certification classes at night.
2008- welcomed Andrei into our home full-time while his mom filmed a t.v. show in P.R. from January through June. Finished year number 2 of teaching. Started my own Wedding Gown company. Opened my store. Spent most of the summer decorating, designing and sewing. Learned how to work a trade show. Learned to not trust a business partner. Started year number 3 of teaching.Got called to Primary Presidency of new ward. Got called to cub scouts (as wolf leader) in new ward. Grew the world's most fertile tomato bushes. Welcomed my sister-in-law Ana into our home as a semi-permanent resident. Welcomed my MIL into our home from January through March and again from July through October. No comment. Threw a ginormous b-day party for Andrei. Welcomed my niece Kenley in Sept. Visited Disneyland in October. Got officially assigned to sing in the choir in the new ward. Got REALLY tired. Closed the store in December due to problems with my partner, lack of sleep, and general stress. Taught Andrei to read and write, tie his shoes, and helped him pull out his first tooth.
2009- Finished my ESL certification, rocked the socks off of the ESL students at my school, struggled as the only fully-functioning member of the Primary Presidency through most of March, got labeled as the vocal soloist for the Spanish Speaking ward in our stake and asked to sing multiple musical numbers at church. Finishing up my 3rd year teaching and working on my permanent license and my etsy shop (debuting in July).
Somewhere along the line I learned to speak Spanish, learned how to oil paint, learned how to type and care for babies, install drywall, change a tire, and how to wear REALLY high heels. So I guess I've been really busy for the past 10 years and that's why I didn't notice they passed so quick. Huh. I'm guessing that the large ammounts of caffeine I've consumed probably fueled most of this.
Anyway, congrats to you if you read all of that. And here's to decades. May we all be able to look back in another 10 years and find ourselves happier and more prosperous.
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The theme of the dance was "decades." They played a mix of music from the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and the past decade. It was fun, but made me feel old to realize that such timeless classics as "Hit me baby" and "If you wanna be my lover" are now considered oldies. Was I really in high school that long ago? Yikes. This also was a blaring reminder of my 10 year KHS reunion which I am purposefully avoiding due to the fact that I am not willing to admit that 10 years of my life have slipped by without my consent. Instead I will be spending the first 2 weeks of June in Europe. This might sound pretentious, but remember- I don't have kids. This is a fact that usually frustrates me and makes me very angry or sad, but on the rare occasion actually makes me a tiny bit happy- such as when I was shopping for Paris tours and had to decide between a day trip to Versaille or Normandy and realized I could never take a 15 mile biking tour of Versailles if I had to lug around a little one.
Anyway, I love everyone I went to KHS with, but I am still in touch with most of my good friends (thanks to the miracle of blogger.com and facebook), and I'll never have a chance to have free lodging in England again.
So here's to growing older and growing up. In the theme of decades, here's the highlights of my last 10 years. It's kind of long, but this is mostly just for my personal records so don't feel obligated to read this all.
1999- first serious relationship, graduated from high school, started BYU, worked for a toy store, a drug store, and 8 a.m. custodial in the Desperate Towers. Learned to drive in my first car, a 1987 black Ford Escort hatchback named Gigolo McBean aka Jiggy.
2000- turned 18, got my first credit card, enjoyed being young and irresponsible, worked for BYU's Eyring Science Center Custodial at 4 am, The BYU book store at 7 am, and BYU catering services. Road trip to Vegas with college roommates. Started taking anti-depressants and going to counseling.
2001- regretted some of the choices I made in 2000 and took a 6 month haitus from BYU to sort some things out in California. Worked as a courier for an Ad agency, BYU's Creamery, took art classes (planning on pursuing a degree in studio art), but felt spiritually prompted to do English Teaching instead thus fulfilling a prophecy made by my step-mom when I was 17. In Sept. I started working at BYU's law building doing custodial from 10pm-2 am. To date my favorite job. Dyed my hair bottle blond and discovered fashion. Got approved as one of 50 out 375 candidates to BYU's English teaching program.
2002- Got friendly with one of the custodial staff who hooked me up on a blind date with his buddy from church, a VERY handsome latino named Luis. Took a trip in the summer to visit home (Texas) for the first time since summer 2000's disasterous vacation. Shared an apartment with my friend Shasta and enjoyed being young and in love (Luis and I spent an hour on the phone every night for 2 months). Returned to Utah in July just in time for the birth of my step-son. Rocked the socks off of my professors and discovered I wanted to teach ESL instead of G/T English. Broke up with Luis. Got to gether with Luis. Broke up with Luis again. Briefly entertained the idea of reuniting with an old flame but thought better of it.
2003- turned 21. Spent the first 4 months of the year trying to convince myself I was no longer in love with Luis. Unsuccessful. Miraculously instructed through divine intervention to reconsider our relationship. Reunited with Luis on April 12th (or 14th). Got engaged to Luis on May 12th after he returned from a 3 week visit to Mexico (in case you didn't catch that, we were dating for a week before he left. He proposed the night he got back). Got married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 19th- a Tuesday. Started student teaching on Sept. 9th. Barely survived the remainder of the year commuting to West Jordan daily on 5 hours of sleep in blizzards.
2004, turned 22. Graduated. Took a "temporary" job at Life Skills to earn some money while Luis finished school. Started taking Andrei during the week (Th-Sun) to help with bills. Decided to "try" for a little one of our own. Luis graduated in Dec. Sold Jiggy in Nov.
2005- Luis hired at Wells Fargo, bought our first house on 300 West in Provo (800 square feet of marital bliss!), got our first dog Bella, started a coop day care with some other young mom's in the ward, got called to my first leadership position (in RS presidency). Briefly quit Life Skills but couldn't handle the monotony of staying home with nothing to do on Andrei's days with his mom.
2006- Got promoted to be the Programming Director of Life Skills (over 12 other employees who were more senior in age and experience... gulp!). Started attending the Spanish language ward. Quit Life Skills and went to work for Dixon Middle School. Got called to be Primary Music Leader. Nearly lost my mind due to late nights at work and never ending professional development meetings.
2007- Started Clomid. 6 failed cycles later vowed I would never take Clomid again! Took the world's longest and most traumatic road trip ever to Mexico. Finished my first year of teaching. Started my second year of teaching in my vastly superior class-room. Rented house number 1 and purchased house number 2. Enjoyed using the hot tub during the winter months. Spent Christmas with my family for the first time in my married life. Started 2 years of ESL certification classes at night.
2008- welcomed Andrei into our home full-time while his mom filmed a t.v. show in P.R. from January through June. Finished year number 2 of teaching. Started my own Wedding Gown company. Opened my store. Spent most of the summer decorating, designing and sewing. Learned how to work a trade show. Learned to not trust a business partner. Started year number 3 of teaching.Got called to Primary Presidency of new ward. Got called to cub scouts (as wolf leader) in new ward. Grew the world's most fertile tomato bushes. Welcomed my sister-in-law Ana into our home as a semi-permanent resident. Welcomed my MIL into our home from January through March and again from July through October. No comment. Threw a ginormous b-day party for Andrei. Welcomed my niece Kenley in Sept. Visited Disneyland in October. Got officially assigned to sing in the choir in the new ward. Got REALLY tired. Closed the store in December due to problems with my partner, lack of sleep, and general stress. Taught Andrei to read and write, tie his shoes, and helped him pull out his first tooth.
2009- Finished my ESL certification, rocked the socks off of the ESL students at my school, struggled as the only fully-functioning member of the Primary Presidency through most of March, got labeled as the vocal soloist for the Spanish Speaking ward in our stake and asked to sing multiple musical numbers at church. Finishing up my 3rd year teaching and working on my permanent license and my etsy shop (debuting in July).
Somewhere along the line I learned to speak Spanish, learned how to oil paint, learned how to type and care for babies, install drywall, change a tire, and how to wear REALLY high heels. So I guess I've been really busy for the past 10 years and that's why I didn't notice they passed so quick. Huh. I'm guessing that the large ammounts of caffeine I've consumed probably fueled most of this.
Anyway, congrats to you if you read all of that. And here's to decades. May we all be able to look back in another 10 years and find ourselves happier and more prosperous.
Me at 8 with Curtis 8th grade dance (13 yrs.) High School Grad (17 yrs)
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College Junior (19 yrs.) Engaged (21) Aug. 19th, 2003 The Fam, 2006 (24)
Older and Wiser (27) Self Portrait Mar. (27)
3 comments:
Way to make it 10 years past high school! And to get so much done in the process. I keep thinking of myself as 10 years out of high school and think that the reunion I missed just happened. And then I realize that I'm actually coming up on 13 years, not 10, and I feel really old.
By the way, you are beautiful. Love ya, lil sis.
PS - The word verification is "meroot". Fitting, since this is a comment on your post about the roots you've grown during the past decade.
When I was ten years out of high school I was not a mother either -- so it's not a big deal really! I loved reading through your accomplishments over the past ten years, and admire you so much! You are a strong, beautiful woman and I'm so grateful you are my sister.
And be quiet, Melissa, you're not old...don't even try that if you suspect your older sister might be reading! ;-) Talk to me when you're twenty-one years out of high school (like me) and I will probably tell you the same thing!
Love, T
I lobe you too much, Camilla!
P.S. I stared at your wedding picture for too long and got all teary. I then decided I should not stare at pictures of people that I love and miss (that happen to be gorgeous) when I'm tired. It makes me weepy. :)
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