Last week I hit the big 3-0.
A lot of people worry about leaving their twenties and growing older.
Amazingly, I don't.
Being thirty doesn't feel any different than being twenty-nine did, and twenty-nine didn't feel any different than twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
In fact, being 'older' hasn't meant much to me since I hit 21, and even that didn't have a huge affect on me.
This decade though, is going to be different.
I have great plans for my thirties.
* Publish the wonderful stories running through my head.
* Watch, participate, and enjoy my daughter as she grows up.
* Graduate from college.
* Read amazing novels, both YA and Adult.
* Live life to the fullest and love with all of my heart.
* Take each day as it comes and know if the day didn't go the way I planned there is always another day.
* Be young at heart and always learn from the youth around me.
The people I love and hold dear to me, celebrated in my tiny home in the middle of the desert, and it was great. We played Clue, drank rum and coke, and laughed.
We laughed a lot.
That's what turning thirty is to me.
It's life.
It's experiences.
It's beautiful and wonderful.
And it's me.
I am thirty, and I am happy with that.
What age are you looking forward to or dreading? What was your favorite age? I'd love to know.
R.S.
Showing posts with label desert life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desert life. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
On King Furry and the Bell
When the Marine and I first got our dog, King Furry he was a tiny thing barely old enough to be away from his mother.
I'm not particularly fond of owning animals, though we always have at least one in our house. I like them well enough, but since having the Munchkin I find them to be more work than pleasure.
The Marine has wanted a dog forever, and I always tell him no. I'm good at that. I'm also good at ignoring the cute puppies, kitties, etc that stare at me from shop windows and cardboard boxes.
Ten months ago I was in emotional upheaval. The Marine was deploying to Afghanistan, I was in school, the Munchkin was already chomping at the bit to show her independence (did I mention she had just turned three?), and less than a week before I was going to be left alone to deal with life-- we got a puppy.
What the hell was I thinking?
Apparently during my emotional overload, I'd lost my mind.
The first thing I did was crate and potty train our unknown Heinz-fifty-seven mixed breed. Then I enrolled him in obedience school. He passed both the AKC Smart Puppy and Canine Good Citizen training with flying colors--he is after all the dumbest smart dog ever.
During his first stage of training, the trainer gave me a bell to hang on the door for him to use whenever he needed to be let outside. Like with everything else he mastered the bell and routinely notifies myself and the Marine whenever he needs to make use of his facilities.
However, he's done one better.
Whenever he wants to go outside to bark at the overweight neighbor dog, or entertain himself by freaking out at the young neighbors to the side of us--he rings the bell. Then he'll walk back around the corner and stare at us intently trying to convince us to take him out.
This trick worked a few times before we got smart.
On a normal day it goes something like this:
KF: Walks over to the door and rings the bell
ME: Not now. You were just outside five minutes ago. You don't need to go again.
KF: Walks out and stares at me.
ME: No. Go to your kennel.
KF: Moseys to his kennel for half a second and slinks back to the door to ring the bell.
ME: The bell is for when you need to go to the bathroom! Not bark at the overweight neighbor dog! You aren't going outside!
KF: He slinks back into my line of sight and stares at me some more...and the vicious cycle continues.
I wonder how long until he finds a new way to get what he wants.
R.S.
I'm not particularly fond of owning animals, though we always have at least one in our house. I like them well enough, but since having the Munchkin I find them to be more work than pleasure.
The Marine has wanted a dog forever, and I always tell him no. I'm good at that. I'm also good at ignoring the cute puppies, kitties, etc that stare at me from shop windows and cardboard boxes.
Ten months ago I was in emotional upheaval. The Marine was deploying to Afghanistan, I was in school, the Munchkin was already chomping at the bit to show her independence (did I mention she had just turned three?), and less than a week before I was going to be left alone to deal with life-- we got a puppy.
What the hell was I thinking?
Apparently during my emotional overload, I'd lost my mind.
The first thing I did was crate and potty train our unknown Heinz-fifty-seven mixed breed. Then I enrolled him in obedience school. He passed both the AKC Smart Puppy and Canine Good Citizen training with flying colors--he is after all the dumbest smart dog ever.
During his first stage of training, the trainer gave me a bell to hang on the door for him to use whenever he needed to be let outside. Like with everything else he mastered the bell and routinely notifies myself and the Marine whenever he needs to make use of his facilities.
However, he's done one better.
Whenever he wants to go outside to bark at the overweight neighbor dog, or entertain himself by freaking out at the young neighbors to the side of us--he rings the bell. Then he'll walk back around the corner and stare at us intently trying to convince us to take him out.
This trick worked a few times before we got smart.
On a normal day it goes something like this:
KF: Walks over to the door and rings the bell
ME: Not now. You were just outside five minutes ago. You don't need to go again.
KF: Walks out and stares at me.
ME: No. Go to your kennel.
KF: Moseys to his kennel for half a second and slinks back to the door to ring the bell.
ME: The bell is for when you need to go to the bathroom! Not bark at the overweight neighbor dog! You aren't going outside!
KF: He slinks back into my line of sight and stares at me some more...and the vicious cycle continues.
I wonder how long until he finds a new way to get what he wants.
R.S.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
On Today's Happiness
I find that I spend a lot of time thinking about what I want to blog about, and half the time nothing I come up with seems interesting enough.
Today, while I was contemplating a topic, I realized something.
I'm happy.
Yes, it's still relatively early to most people, though I've been awake since six--just like everyday when my three year old daughter/personal alarm clock, wakes up, but to me it's well toward 'mid-day'.
I'm feeling good about myself, and with myself (and yes, there is a difference).
I have an amazing daughter who even when she's driving me batty, is still the most amazing person in my life. I've got great friends who love me, even though they're hundreds of miles away; family who loves me--both those who live with me, and those who also live their daily lives in various states across the country.
I'm happy.
I'm happy, because I realized all the choices in my life have led me here.
Right here.
To this day.
To this blog post.
To this city in the middle of the desert that most people have never even heard of, let alone visited.
Every bad decision, painful experience, emotionally dark period, and wonderful highlight, has led me to the person I am today.
A mother, a wife, a writer, a photographer, a friend, and a confidant.
I'm not the world traveler I someday want to be, and I haven't been published...yet, but all of those are on my personal horizon.
If I had a chance to go back and change anything in my past... any of the horrible experiences, the loss of innocence, the dark days after the death of my son, the heartbreak I wasn't sure I'd survive... I wouldn't change it.
Why?
Because I wouldn't be where I am, who I am, or what I am today.
Today wouldn't be... today.
Life is a precious, precious thing. Don't take it for granted, and don't regret the experiences in your past. Always remember who you were, where you came from, and who was there to help you along...
R.S.
Today, while I was contemplating a topic, I realized something.
I'm happy.
Yes, it's still relatively early to most people, though I've been awake since six--just like everyday when my three year old daughter/personal alarm clock, wakes up, but to me it's well toward 'mid-day'.
I'm feeling good about myself, and with myself (and yes, there is a difference).
 |
I'm happy.
I'm happy, because I realized all the choices in my life have led me here.
Right here.
To this day.
To this blog post.
To this city in the middle of the desert that most people have never even heard of, let alone visited.
Every bad decision, painful experience, emotionally dark period, and wonderful highlight, has led me to the person I am today.
A mother, a wife, a writer, a photographer, a friend, and a confidant.
I'm not the world traveler I someday want to be, and I haven't been published...yet, but all of those are on my personal horizon.
If I had a chance to go back and change anything in my past... any of the horrible experiences, the loss of innocence, the dark days after the death of my son, the heartbreak I wasn't sure I'd survive... I wouldn't change it.
Why?
Because I wouldn't be where I am, who I am, or what I am today.
Today wouldn't be... today.
Life is a precious, precious thing. Don't take it for granted, and don't regret the experiences in your past. Always remember who you were, where you came from, and who was there to help you along...
R.S.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)