But, in reality 40 years is a long time. A lot happens in 40 years. Remember back in high school when you were getting ready to graduate and it felt like you had been going to school for SO long. It was most of your lifetime back then. The funny thing is I really wish someone had told me back then that school, especially high school, is such a small fraction of your life. All of those things I worried about and cried over and were so big to me back then but really in the grand scheme of 40 years I wish I had known that it was really just a blink of an eye of what was to come.
This journey down memory lane was an amazing trip for me. I had really forgotten a lot over the years. Can you believe that I had completely forgotten the story about Jody buying the engagement ring and me returning it? I am not kidding. As I was writing one night while Jody was out of town it just sort of fell out onto the page. I was shocked at all of the things I had forgotten.
I also tried to make these stories as honest as I could without giving all of the gory details about everything. Other people that I love and care about have a stake in my memories as well, and so I hope I have not done anything to hurt anyone’s feelings or cause any harm. I really didn’t know exactly how all of these stories would turn out until I wrote them. I literally started with a list of about 42 topics I could write about, and I just went from there.
So, now I’ll end this with one last story.
A few weeks before I headed off to Wyoming with that guy I have told you all about… I went up to NY to visit my older sister. For fun we went to see a psychic. Do I really believe that someone can look at my palm or a deck of cards and see my future? I'm not sure… but here is what the psychic said.
She told me I would be going someplace new. I knew I was heading to Wyoming very soon. She said that my relationship with this guy would only last six weeks. I can remember that because my sister asked the psychic if I should not go to Wyoming with him. The psychic said I should still go, and I should not change any of my plans based on what she said. Well, my relationship with that guy lasted longer than six weeks. But, exactly six weeks after I arrived with him in Wyoming I was on the phone asking Jody to help get me back to Florida.
There were other things that the psychic told me that came true like she told me I would be the mother of two children. That obviously happened. She told me I would get married when I was 25. That happened too. There were other things, but you get the point. The psychic also told me I would live until I was 82. I told her that was really specific and she said she to me “I’m just telling you what I see”.
Since I’m not going anywhere for another 42 years I feel like there is still a lot more I can do with my life. All of these milestones so far have made the first half of my life one damn remarkable trip. As I continue on with my journey I have an amazing husband who has already shared in the past 20 years and he better hang around for the next 42. My kids will grow up, move out and have families of their own. I can only hope they will allow me to share in their adventures and journey. I don’t want to share in all of them, because I want them to have their own lives. But maybe I can be there for some of the good stuff.
As I start this next part of my life I hope I can remember all the milestones I hit and maybe do this trip down memory lane again one day. You know once I have raised my kids to be geniuses, gotten my own career back and I’m out there saving the world or something!
So again, thank you all for coming on this journey.
And, by the way after all of these awesome songs have helped me get through these past 39 days, it does seem a little weird to end on a Big Time Rush song, but first I'd like to say I've always been a sucker for boy bands. Secondly, Jaime was playing this in the car one day and I actually listened to the words. It really fit so well I couldn't leave it out! I'm "halfway there"…
When the chips are down, back against the wall
Got no more to give 'cause we gave it all ,
Seems like going a distance is unrealistic
But we're too far from the start .
So we take what comes and we keep on going
Leaning on each other's shoulders
Then we turn around and see we've come so far somehow.
We're halfway there, we're looking good now
Nothing's gonna get in the way.
We're halfway there and looking back now
I'd never thought that I'd ever say
We're halfway there, we're halfway there.
If you never flew, we would never fall.
If the world was ours, we would have it all.
But the life we live isn't so simplistic
You just don't get what you want.
So we take what comes and we keep on going.
Leaning on each others shoulders.
Then we turn around and see we've come so far somehow...
How you ever gonna reach the stars
If you never get off the ground?
And you're always here where you are
If you let life knock you down
We're halfway there, we're looking good now
Nothing's gonna get in the way
We're halfway there and looking back now
I'd never thought that I'd ever say
We're halfway there, we're halfway there
(Oh, we're halfway there, halfway there )
-Big Time Rush