#29 Good Lordy - I'm 40

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Ticks the clock.

Most people only get the have one birthday a year, but I don't. I'm privileged. I have two birthdays. I get to turn 40 twice. Oh the joy!!!!

For fifteen years, I celebrated my birthday on August 31st. My parents and siblings ALL said that I was born on the last day of the month. They were there, they said. Well, it wasn't until I went to get my learner's permit that the lady at the DMV pointed out the discrepancy. My birth certificate read August 30th. And before you assume....No. I wasn't born near midnight. However, it was the 70's. Someone somewhere was smoking some serious shit. Only I can't exactly figure out if it was my family or the nursing staff at the hospital. Probably both. At any rate, no one can confirm my actual birthdate so I celebrate both.  SCORE!!!!!!

When I turned 30 back in 2003, I was shocked as hell. I never thought I'd live to see 30. Truthfully, I thought I'd die in some tragic accident or fall victim to a heinous serial killer, so when I hit the big 3-0, it threw me for a loopty loop. I had no clue what to do with myself. I hadn't made any plans. So that's pretty much when I started improvising.

Since I'm turning the big 4-0, I'm in a reminicsing mood, so I thought I'd share with you some of my past professional lives, some of the things I have lived through - survived, to get here, to today. Not everything in my past is rosy. But it's still my life, a life I wouldn't change even if I was given the opportunity.

• My first childhood memory was of my Mom and Dad fighting. We lived in a single wide trailer at the end of a red dirt road in Jackson, Alabama. (No, this isn't lyrics to a country song, but it could be) My mom pulled a gun on my father and told him he had 30 seconds to get in his car and leave or she was going to "blow his brains out in front of his kids."  I watched my father throw red dirt into the wind as he sped away.
• My favorite childhood memory is picking fresh strawberries with my Grandma in rural Illinois one spring. We ate more than we picked. I remember she made homemade strawberry shortcake with some of the strawberries and preserves with the rest. She did everything the old fashioned way.  The best cake ever was Grandma's Orange Supreme Cake.
• When we lived in Houston, Texas, I was almost abducted by a pedophile on Easter Sunday at a McDonalds near my home. I had walked there to buy a hamburger, but they were still serving breakfast and I had to wait.  He was watching me. He tried to get me to leave with him but I told him I couldn't because I needed my Mom's permission. He followed me to a nearby flea market where I knew a friend's Mom was working and she gave me a ride home. I reported him to the police and they arrested him.
• The single most gut wrenching event in my life was the death of my Grandmother in 1983 when I was 10. I remember vomiting for days.
• I got my period when I was 13. My Mom had left me 6 months before, so I had NO CLUE what the hell was happening to me. I thought I was dying.
• I survived and escaped a second pedophile. (I've actually said before that I think I attract sickos - there just might be something to that theory too)
• My first job was working with my Mom. She was a General Contractor. From the age of 13 or 14 through my early twenties, I worked part time with her roofing, painting and cleaning up rental properties as her laborer.

• My second job was working for the Infants Department in Roses. This is funny since I don't really like kids.
• I was a run away at 17 years old. I was homeless for countless months, sleeping on couches and floors when I could find someone to take me in.
• I graduated high school when I was 18 years old. The week of graduation I was hospitalized for hemorrhaging and nearly died. Hormone disorder. My best friend Chris Goff helped me walk during graduation because I was too weak to do it by myself.
• I was re-introduced to my Father and sisters when I was 18 years old after being estranged for more than a decade.

• After graduation, I moved in with my boyfriend and went to COLLEGE. For Surgical Technology! For CNA! For EMT! And for Phlebotomy!
• I got married at the age of 20. 
• Various jobs I've held from age 20-25 (in no particular order):  Medical Secretary - Pediatrician's Office; Surgical Technologist - Oral & Maxillofacial Surger; Medical Assistant - Podiatrist; Phlebotomist - University Hospital; Registrar of Continuing Education - Augusta State University; Data Entry Clerk - Boral Bricks; Receptionist - Augusta Regional Airport; Secretary II - Augusta Regional Airport
• Divorced at 25 years old.
• Remarried at 27 years old.  Been blissfully married now for 13 years.

• Various jobs I've held from age 25-Present (in no particular order): Admin Assistant - Augusta Regional Airport; Admin Assistant - MCG; Marketing Assistant - Sherman and Hemstreet; Project Assistant - Club Car; Warranty Representative - Club Car; Admin Assistant - Augusta Regional Airport; Receptionist / Secretary - Oglesby Tax Service.
• I've had two miscarriages, a lung mass, a breast mass, and numerous surgeries and procedures over the years due to my medical issues.
• I've lost my sister, mother and father.

• And now I'm facing an incurable illness.

I have laughed, cried, cursed, yelled, hugged and kissed a lot over the course of my life. I've done a lot of crazy things, fun things, i.e., zip lining, bungee jumping, motorcycle riding, and raveled. I've had more near death experiences than most people, but I probably love life more than you think.

In 40 years, I have sung on Cloud 9 and hidden under the lowest rock, but I have always thanked God for my life and my blessings.  If you are reading this, then thank you for sharing in my special day, my BIG 4-0, my walk down memory lane, the good and the bad, the smiles and of course, the kleenex!

I have survived a lot of things that should have destroyed me, but somehow or another I managed to come out of it a stronger person.

So HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY to me!