Loose Leaf Notes

5 Years and 5 Things Ago…
What were you doing 10 years ago? I was watching my youngest son Dylan’s soccer games and my eldest son Josh wrestle in his first state tournament. I was taking prom pictures of Josh and teaching him to drive. Dylan dyed his hair red and got a bb stuck in his leg. I was vending my jewelry at Grateful Dead concerts and working at a bead shop. Joe and I traveled to the South West, hiked into the Grand Canyon and camped at the Havasupi Indian Reservation.
5 years ago? My youngest son, Dylan, graduated from High School. My sister, Sherry got re-married, and I was her maid of honor. Our brothers, Jim and Dan, were still living. I was doing full-time foster care for an adult with disabilities…doing direct-care, going to trainings, and writing quarterly reports. I swam in a phosphorescent bay in Puerto Rico and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
One year ago? I attended the Hull Village Reunion and saw friends I hadn’t seen in 30 years. It was also a book signing for my book, “The Jim and Dan Stories.” The Boston Globe did a story on it. Joe and I rode our bikes on the Virginia Creeper Trail. We put a new roof on our house.
Yesterday? Paid bills, dug garlic, planted lettuce, filled my basket and arms full of produce, talked to my son on the phone, cleaned off the kitchen table, cried while watching Dr. Phil, made spaghetti sauce, blogged and worked on my writing in between all of this.
5 snacks you enjoy? Kettle chips, peanut butter balls, mozzarella, carrot cake by chef, Kelly Erb, heath bar crunch ice-cream.
5 songs I know all the words to? I Could Drink a Case of You by Joni Mitchell, Higher Love by Steve Winwood, Layla by Eric Clapton, My Favorite Mistake by Sheryl Crow, and most all the Beatle’s songs.
5 things you would do if you had a million dollars? I would give some to family members, progressive politicians, and charities that I support. I’d buy an oceanfront cottage, go to Italy to eat lunch, and tuck the rest under my mattress.
5 things you like doing? Dancing, gardening, writing, walking the beach, taking a hot bath.
5 bad habits? Burning pots of food, starting books and not finishing them, having nearly illegible handwriting, putting off making phone calls, keeping my car a mess.
5 things I would never wear again? Platform shoes, Toni perms, midriff showing clothes, my big floppy hippy hat, or my boyfriend’s school ring around my neck.
5 favorite toys? Literally…tops (especially if they light up), kaleidoscopes, squishy goop with sound effects, small doll house stuff, and things you wind-up.
I found this meme a couple of months ago on mommy-matters.blogspot.com. I’ve listed the people I’m tagging below. For the best cross-pollination results, taken from “Five Things I Miss About My Childhood,” the tagging instructions go like this: Remove the blog at #1 from the following list and bump everyone up one place; add your blog’s name in the number 5 spot; link to each of the other blogs.
1. Loose Leaf : https://looseleafnotes.com
2. Simply Coll: http://colleenscorner.com/blog
3. MommaK: http://petroville.blogspot.com
4. Writing from the hip: http://writingfromthehip.blogspot.com
5. Blue Stocking: http://bluestocking.typepad.com
Next: select four new friends to add to the pollen count. (No one is obligated to participate and anyone can play if they want to).