a short while ago i found a journal i wrote during my first semester of college. i was surprised at how many things i had forgotten. i've been recording joshua's milestones since he was born ... and it occurred to me that i should record a few things about myself, too! i don't want to forget what i was like in my 20's -- especially since they're almost over! in honor of my birthday (i will be 29 at 9:31 p.m.), here's just a little bit about me:
i love the smell of gasoline. i love the scent that wafts in the car when you open the door at a gas station. please don't think i'm addicted or crazy, though ... i only take a whiff when i'm filling up the tank.
i am the worst patient. luckily, my lupus has been in remission and i rarely get sick. if i have a headache, i will put off taking tylenol for quite a while. when i'm working at the hospital, i always offer pain medication early to my patients. i'm not sure why i don't follow my own advice. maybe i'm just sick of taking so many pills for so long.
i still bite my nails. it's a filthy and disgusting habit, and i can't tell you how many times i have quit. i don't even have much to be nervous about any more, because my life is pretty close to perfect.
i am cheap. i don't like to spend money unless i really have to. i really don't shop that much at all, either.
i am very stubborn and opinionated. but i often keep my opinions to myself. when i do share them, it's usually only with mark and my family. i don't like to be wrong. i am realistic and practical, but i like to daydream too.
i have no sense of direction. thank goodness for our gps! i'm not quite sure how i ever managed without it.
i tend to run late. this problem has only gotten worse since joshua daniel came into my life. mark is so used to this that he will tell me we need to leave earlier than we do, just so we will make it on time. he hates to be late.
i may have ocd. i do the "checks" (the doors, plugs, oven, etc.) when i leave my house at least 3 times. this is one of the reasons i run late -- it wastes a lot of time! but i don't feel secure unless i check everything before i go. i'm not so bad about it when mark is leaving with us. then i only do the "checks" a couple of times. he humors me, but only because he doesn't want to hear, "did i check the oven? was it off?" 47 times while we are gone.
i have problems finding clothes. having joshua daniel really changed my body, and i can hardly find anything that fits. when i do find things that look good, i buy several of them. i recently bought 5 shirts in the same pattern (different colors, though).
in college i stopped capitalizing letters. it was easier and quicker to take notes in all lower case text. i'm a big grammar nut, but this doesn't bother me.
but here's something that does bother me: i can't believe high schools across the country allow people to graduate without knowing when to use they're, their, and there. the same thing goes for you're and your. there's no excuse for this now that we all have spell check!
i am not a patient driver. i tend to yell at people while driving. i get really ticked when people cut me off or drive recklessly, especially when joshua is in the car with me. and why can't people use turn signals any more? is it really that difficult to drive well?
i like my life to be ordered and fairly predictable. i hate making last-minute plans. i hate surprises. i like to know what's coming far, far in advance.
when i get a new book, i read the last paragraph or the last few pages so that i can see what happens. this lets me be more prepared; i know more of what to expect, and i don't have to worry about what might be coming. even though i know how things end up, i like seeing the progression the characters make to get there.
i love harry potter and the twilight saga. i have read twilight several times ... and i've lost count of how many times i've read harry potter. seriously. sometimes i want to escape into their worlds ... to leave for just a few hours and immerse myself into the "familiar" places i've never been. i also love pride and prejudice, the lord of the rings, crime and punishment, and so many more! i tend to re-read my favorite books over and over and over and over ...
i could eat mexican food every single day of the week. and i could live on carbohydrates alone. bread and desserts are my big weaknesses. luckily, i just started working out again. hopefully my resolve to get in shape will last!
i usually get the same thing every time i go to a restaurant. i don't deviate from my favorites very often.
i am not worried about turning 30 next year. in a way, i'm looking forward to it. i'm hoping that people will start taking me more seriously then. and maybe i'll start looking older ... i can still pass for someone in high school.
i have a fear of falling. i don't mind heights if i'm certain i won't fall.
i think all people should take a "stupidity test" before they are allowed to procreate. some people were not meant to reproduce. i can't tell you how many sad cases i have had at the hospital ... and some people blame their children for inconveniencing their lives. it's not the child's fault that his parents were irresponsible. it also makes me ache for my friends that want children so badly, yet cannot have them.
i think people need to be held responsible for their decisions. i truly believe in the "you made your bed, now you can lie in it" philosophy. i am worried at the lack of morality so apparent in our country today. i worry about the kind of world that my son will grow up in.
i am a Christian. i love my Jesus more than anything, but i know i disappoint Him all too often. i am a deacon's wife, just like my mother. i even look like my mom ... we're more similar than i would care to admit. if i can do as good of a job as a mommy as she did with me, i'll be doing well.
i love my family. i have the best husband. he works so hard to provide for us, and i am so proud of him. and i love my joshua daniel so much that it hurts! i had no idea i was capable of this kind of love before i had my son!
that's probably more than you wanted to know. i'll be surprised if anyone decided to read this far! but at least now i'll be able to remember what i was like on the day i turned 29!
