My dream is to one day publish an auto-biography. For most of my life, the "planned" title has been "My Life Up and Down I-35". After growing up in Wichita, Kansas and going to school in Des Moines, Iowa and then moving to Austin, Texas - that seemed quite suiting! However, now that I'm closing in on age 35 - and no longer live close to I-35 - the name is no longer appropriate.
I subscribe to a "blog-a-day" inspiration post, and one day they suggested this: Write a power sentence for every year of your life. Wow. That isn't a post (for me, anyhow) that can be done quickly. It is definitely something that takes some time to think through - just to narrow down the events and when they occurred! The topic, however, suits me. It's a way to do a mini-autobiography, and reflect on life - which is something I try to do from time to time.
It also generated some great discussion - - for example, DH suggested that a reflection on life is more about "chunks" of years than a year-by-year view. There are obvious chunks - (his, in brief, were before school, elementary school, high school, college, new job years, wife years, and now he is in the kid-years chunk). His idea makes lots of sense- especially when you consider that most of a life - particularly through your 30s or so (and possibly longer, if I live to tell the tale) is very "chunk"able. Truth be told, as I'm trying to come up with something for each year, it's much more difficult than I expected. In fact - I feel like perhaps I was missing from some years of my life evidenced by the fact that I can't come up with a single sentence or event that captures the year.
As I thought about this at length, off and on over the course of a week or so, I began filling in the blanks and realizing that my memory, already, is fuzzy. For many events (high school and college graduation, wedding, birth of child, etc)- the date is a definitive year. For other events (travelling, studying for actuarial exams, dog shows, etc) they may span many years and not quite be captured, or the years are not quite as significant as the physical location.
As with any reflection, it did quickly become clear to me that travel and family are both among my priorities in life, and I thankfully have the means with which to do both. However, I admit that I worry, and I'm not sure how much two kids in daycare will require cutting of the travel budget; but for a few short years, I'm sure we'll manage!
I really do hope that an autobiography one day emerges from within. In the meantime, with tomorrow's post, you will hopefully have a glimpse into the highlights of my life.
Love: Writing - somehow it makes me at peace. Who would have thought a math major would love writing?
Hope: You enjoy tomorrow's post!
Do: Finish it up and "schedule" it - I love that you can do that in this electronic age!
Number: 11 - For the number of days between the "power sentence" post tomorrow and the original "suggestion"!
