"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. " -Helen Keller

Saturday, February 21, 2009

SHOW AND TELL: Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time, there was a woman who lived an average life...at least it seemed like an average life. But, when you looked into her life you discovered she had lived in many fabulous places and had experienced many fabulous things.

She started her life in Taipei, Taiwan...because her parents couldn't bear to be kept apart by the USAF when their first child was born.

Taipei, Taiwan


After spending 9 short months in Taiwan, she and her parents moved back to McGuire AFB in New Jersey. While she lived there, she discovered the joys of finger painting walls with tooth paste, having your own personal green hippo, and what happens when your parents bring a little squalling thing home from the hospital.

McGuire AFB in New Jersey


New Jersey was followed by almost 4 years at Ramstein AFB in Germany. While in Germany, she had her appendix out, broke her leg, visited glorious castles, drifted through the canals of Venice, learned to ski, toured the salt mines, camped across Europe, and gained another sister.


The next 2 years were an orgy of sun, sand, and body surfing in Hawaii. The then young girl caught itty bitty sand sharks in the canals, body surfed on the military beaches with her golden retriever, and had a best friend whose dad was in the mafia.

Kailua on the island of Oahu, Hawaii


Next came 5 years in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. These years included a disastrous adoption attempt by her family, braces, glasses, and 2 hellish years of middle school...ugh. But, before she reached that point, the young girl discovered the joys of sleep overs with friends, riding lessons with an incredible teacher, riding a horse bareback though ponds, and having a horse all to herself one summer.

Fort Walton Beach, Florida


Her next home was in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Although many wonderful things happened during the years to come, the only thing Goldsboro had to recommend it was and is the Air Force Base.

Fighter from Seymour Johnson AFB, Goldsboro, NC
She moved to NC at the end of 8th grade and thus began her era of summer camps, some of the best times of her young life ...Girl Scout National Center West (horseback camp in Wyoming), summer geek camps at Appalachian State University and Salem College, a two week summer science seminar at the Air Force Academy. Her high school years were filled with drama club, year book, lots of AP classes, and lifeguarding (great summer job!). She was lucky enough to get into her 1st pick school for college and spent 4 years in Durham, NC at Duke University.

Duke Chapel on West Campus

Duke East Campus
College was filled with classes, semi-formals, ROTC (until that knee she broke back in Germany messed up that), camping out in Krzyzewskiville to get tickets for basketball games, bonfires with the Cameron Crazies, tunneling under East Campus, blender partied with the Phi Kaps, sewrvice projects and fun with Alpha Phi Omega, and many other unmentionable activities (and, yes, she still managed to graduate in 4 years). The summer after she graduated, she moved to Hillsborough, NC.

Hillsborough, NC
While living in Hillsborough, she became a member of the local Rescue Squad at the urging of her good friend Mike Wilson and eventually became a paramedic. She also spent about 4 months training horses withe a former member of USET. She worked various jobs to support herself but the most important thing that happened while living in Hillsborough was she met her future husband while volunteering at the Rescue Squad. After a bit, she and her husband to be moved to Burlington, NC where they established their life together and eventually had 3 sons.

Burlington, NC

Life went on and the not so small family found themselves moving to Cary, NC.

Cary, NC...hard to believe its a city with over 100,000 people
While the move to Cary was not what this woman or her family initially wanted, it turned out to be a gift from God. Living in Cary has given her children a better education, her husband a job he loves, a neighborhood that is filled with friends, and many opportunities and activities that just weren't available where they use to live.

I have lived a wonderful life.

To see what everyone else in class is bringing to SHOW AND TELL, take a trip to visit the Miss Mel, Goddess of the Infertility Blogosphere.

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BOOK CHALLENGE AND CONTEST FOR 2009

I am hosting a year long contest dealing with a reading challenge. Check out the details here and sign up in the comments section of that post. The ultimate winner will get a fabulous prize from me at the end of the year.

26 comments:

Beautiful Mess said...

Aww that's an awesome story! Thank you for sharing. I loved the pictures that you put with your childhood. Good job graduating in 4 years even with all your extracurricular activities going on ;o)
*ICLW* and Show and Tell

'Murgdan' said...

Great show and tell! Thanks for sharing it!

Velda said...

I think this is my favourite post of yours ever...how interesting!

Anonymous said...

Great show and tell. I spent my birthday on Maui, specifically Lahaina. Because of the wedding festivities we didn't venture far.

Anonymous said...

What wonderful and exotic places you have lived! As someone who's only lived in 3 places ever, it's amazing to see!

Jendeis said...

Here from ICLW. Great story! I really enjoyed reading about your life!

Brenna said...

My husband grew up much as you did, moving frequently (his dad was in the Army) and living in all kinds of wild and wonderful places. That lifestyle was foreign to me until I met him (having lived in three places my entire live, including going away to college!) but now I've lived in four different states and another country in the five years we've been married! Crazy! It does provide for a broad life view though, and I wouldn't trade the travel experiences for anything. (That said, I dream of someday finding our Cary and putting down some roots!) A friend of mine from college got married several years ago in Cary and lives there now, it really is a beautiful town.

ICLW

Jo said...

You have truly been blessed to travel and live in so many neat places!

In one of those "isn't it a small world" scenarios -- my husband is from Fort Walton. Gorgeous beaches, no?

HaleyMarieOlson said...

Wow you have lived a lot of awesome places!

*ICLW* and Show/Tell

The Steadfast Warrior said...

Wow, you've certainly moved around! Must have been amazing and hard at the same time. It's always interesting how one ends up finding "home" in certain places, as if they were always destined to be there.

I love horses too (ever since I was a kid) but I never learned how to ride. Still on my list of things to do becuase trail rides don't count.

ICLW and S&T

MrsSpock said...

That was a great S & T! You have lived in so many places-wow!

Fat Chick said...

What a great story and lovely pictures!
ICLW

Jill said...

Thank you for sharing your life! What interesting stories you must have! You should write them down so your boys can read them some day :)

ICLW

Michelle said...

Wow what a great story. You have lived in some amazing places. That is so cool!

Lori Lavender Luz said...

I love the way you tell your story. And that you are enjoying the journey and inviting us along!

Baby Smiling In Back Seat said...

Your dad was stationed in the best set of locations that I've ever heard of. And even better, you made the most of them!

Liv said...

What a great adventure story. A perfect way to get a glimpse of your life. Great S&T post!!!

I'm very glad you have such a happy life. What a blessing your husband has a great job he enjoys.

Anyway, enjoy a great week and good luck to you and your sis when scanning those photos. It's a task for sure!

ICLW

Lollipop Goldstein said...

What an incredible post and what an incredible life.

Megs said...

Wow what a wonderful story! Love the pictures!! :)

*Here from ICLW!

Soralis said...

WOW! Sounds amazing!

ICLW!

Anonymous said...

As a child I moved around quite a bit as well due to my father being in the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force). Unfortunately we never moved to any exotic places nor do I have any truly memorable memories of the places we did live - except that I contracted Pnuemonia and Pluracy when I was 6 and had to be hospitalized for a few weeks. Its fantastic that you seem to have taken much from your experiences in every place you have lived!

Jendeis said...

Thanks for the comment. Actually, most RE clinics (and all of them in my area) have BMI restrictions for IVF, if not for IUI. There are several reasons: 1) morbidly obese women are less successful at ART, 2) morbidly obese women are at a very high risk for developing complications in pregnancy (gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, premature birth) and, 3) morbidly obese women (and men) are at very high risk for complications from anesthesia used during ART procedures because the medicine is fat-soluble (i.e., the medicine goes into the fat cells, so you wake up, then, later, like after you've gone home, it re-metabolizes back into your bloodstream and oops! you stop breathing (happened to my sister, thank G-D, she was OK)). Also, my RE tells me that it is physically harder to retrieve eggs from a morbidly obese woman who carries her weight in her abdomen. So, it's discrimination, but there's reasons behind it. I agree, they still suck though.

daega99 said...

Amazing! So beautiful!

ICLW #34

*Tanyetta* said...

WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I loved this show and tell. You've lived in some amazing places.

What a beautiful story :)

..al said...

Wow...you have lived at so MMMMMMAAANYY places. I wish the same for me.

Which of these cities was your happiest stay?

Margaret said...

What a great post. And here I thought I knew you..... LOL

One of my other NC best friends also "did time" in Goldsboro!