Question #1 - My Answer

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" When I was a kid I wanted to be a nurse. Yes. A nurse. For those of you who don't know me that is an impossibility! For those of you who do, you may be rolling on the floor with laughter. Video tape it and send it to me. I could put the video of you laughing on my blog! Down by the lyrics. If you send me yours, maybe I'll post mine. OK, enough random talk. Back to the fact that I could never be a nurse. I realized my future would be different way back when I dislocated my pinkie finger playing basket ball. It was pointing away from my other fingers. Nasty! Painful! And then in the same school year, while being chased by boys of course, I grabbed the top of a chain link fence and ripped the middle of my finger open. Not pretty. Believe me. By the way, the muscles in your finger are white and can explode with the least amount of pressure. And then again when I almost cut the top of my finger off opening a spam can on Christmas Eve. At this time, I again request that you send me a copy of your laughter. And yes. Spam. We were poor and that was a delicacy in our home! Don't bash it! And we were very young and didn't know better. The list goes on of reasons why I can't be a nurse and those are topics of another day. After the shock of not being able to be a nurse wore off I decided I wanted to be a High School English Teacher. What a cool job! That has never really worn off. That idea is still there in my mind. Again, another story for another day. Then, came track. Running became my life! I was 6th in the State in the 1500 meter and 11th in the 3200 meter at the end of my Freshman year. The first year I had ever run by the way, and I didn't have a coach. I won all of my races during the season over the next three years, except two which is a sore spot with me and I can only discuss it over pancakes. My times were competitive with nationals. By my Junior year I was first in State and ready to move on to better things. I just knew I could get on the 1998 Olympic team and go to Seoul, South Korea. How cool would that be? It would be my senior year and my life would be wonderful! Mary Teresa Decker was my hero! I could watch her run all day. The day she was pushed off the track during a national meet I almost died! I'm sure many of you heard me yelling that day. My Junior year I got a full-ride scholarship to Utah State. I was on cloud 9! I could run and get my teaching degree at the same time all for free! And then I could be a lawyer! (Another long story.) Then it happened. The Senior year curse. I got very, very sick around the end of October. I ended up coughing up blood and almost rupturing a kidney within one month. I was too weak to lift my head. (Thanks Dad for the help! LOVE YOU!) I lived in a small town and we only had one doctor. He took too long to figure out that I had developed asthma. That was it! If I had been diagnosed 3 months earlier I would have been fine. By the time I got on the right inhaler and could walk across a room and breath at the same time, I thought I could get back in shape for cross country which started about February/March at our school. I knew it would be a long road and that it would be hard, but I was willing to do it. The smell of track was in the air as I went to the track one day to start training. Let's just say that one lap around a track is very long when you can't breath and you are very weak. I don't know how I got home that day. I love track so much even now that I can smell it in the air. (If you ran track and loved it you will know what I mean. It is amazing and exhilarating!) I did get to go to State that year, but as a "water girl". Everyone was so supportive and we had lots of fun. At the awards ceremony at the end of the year I got the "Hard Luck Award" instead of a new school record I had gotten for the past 3 years. I couldn't even be at the ceremony because I was sick. I am still a runner, when the weather isn't too cold. I can't breath well in the cold and I cannot stand running on a treadmill! I ran the St. George marathon in October 2004 and it was awesome! I even qualified for the Boston marathon! Then, I wanted to be a mom. It took 4 years to get my sweet baby boy, but it was well worth the wait. Now with 5 kids and all in school I want to go to school myself. So, with the history intact (at least some of it) here is what I want to be when I grow up: A Track Coach of any school or group Run the Boston marathon A web designer/developer A College English Literature and/or Creative Writing Teacher And I want to look 15 years old while doing it. haha! For those of you out there who are trying to find a way for that to be possible, keep me on your list of people who need and want that help. :) Your turn...Question 1 or Question 2 both need answering by my readers. (Becca, that's you. hahaha!!!! I crack myself up!)