Fifty Two and I hate Shoes!

I'm fifty-two years old today!  Fifty-two rotations around the sun.  It's funny because even though I'm in my 50s, I feel 25 in my head.  But my aching back and creaking knees and gray hair tell me, "Yes.  You are older!"

I thought it would be fun to list fifty-two facts about myself that you may or may not know.  This is hard because I've done this before and would love to come up with some new things.  So here is the good, the bad, and the really weird things about me on my Fifty-second birthday.

 
(Disclaimer:  This is not me at fifty-two!  It's me at 49.  lol   I chose it because no matter how many facts I give you about myself, these are the only facts that count!) 

1. I hate wearing shoes.  I wear them in the winter and when I go out, but the minute I'm home they are off.  I even exercise at home without them.

2. I cry at the drop of a hat.  I cry when I'm touched by something.  I cry when I worship.  I cry when I'm sad, happy, and so on.  That sounds like I'm a giant puddle of tears which I'm not.  But they do rise up at the most inopportune times.

3. I much prefer comedies over drama in movies.  (Probably because of #2).

4. I was chased by a troubled boy with a knife when I was 10 years old.

5. I had a dog, Susie, who was hit by our school bus when I was around 6 or 7.

6. I hate shopping.  I go when I need to and go to get what I want, but window shopping or going for hours makes me want to scream.

7. I've always slept with the blankets up around my neck, even in the middle of the summer heat.  I feel safe that way. (Like an ax murderer won't be able to chop his way through my iron sheets!) LOL

8. I write my prayers out in a prayer journal.  It helps me to stay focused.

9. I love cheese of all kinds.

10.I love hanging clothes outside on the line, but they all have to face the same direction. (Weird, I know)!

11. My favorite tea is Earl Grey.

12. I'm afraid of heights.

13. My favorite ice cream is Friendly's black raspberry.

14. I have a very hard time saying no, without feeling extremely guilty.

15. I love fires.

16. I went to Spain for 6 weeks.

17. I rode a train to Edinburgh, Scotland from London and stayed in a bed and breakfast.

18. Dan & I were interviewed on the Geraldo RIvera show back in the 80s.

19. I was married once before.  Gotcha on that one!  The marriage took place on the playground at my school at the age of 10.  I divorced him the same day and he promptly pushed me down a hill and made me cut my knee open.  To which I replied, "This is exactly why I'm divorcing you!"

20. I used to love to swing from these long rope swings at my grandparents' farm and fall into the loose hay far below.

21. Dan & I had the worst honeymoon EVER!!!!!  Too long of a story.

22. I was chased by a bull.

23. I was chased by a flying squirrel.

24. I was chased by roosters.

25. I smoked pot, once, as a teenager.  But didn't inhale. ;-)

26. I love fresh flowers.

27. My favorite thing to do is to run my hand over the pages of a new book and smell it.

28. I'm impatient.

29. I'm sound asleep by 10 almost every night.

30. I hate making breakfast.

31. I sang a solo at my high school baccalaureate. 

32. I played soccer, softball and volleyball in high school (spent most of my time on the bench).

33. I was a cheerleader in high school.

34. A midwife delivered both Stephen & Emily.

35. I toured different parts of the country with my college chorale, singing at different churches.

36. I was a secretary for Federal Paper Board when we were first married.

37. I've been responsible for 80 inner city preschoolers and teachers on field trips to New York City.  Talk about nerve wracking and can you say, "Drill Sargent?" 

38. Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors.

39. My ancestors were among the first to settle in this country.

40. I've been robbed.

41. I've been to an opera and hated it.

42. I've intervened in a fight between a guy who was beating up his girlfriend.  Very scary!

43. I love the ocean.

44. I've driven through the Pyrenees Mountains.

45. I did street ministry (kid's programs/puppet shows) to children in Chinatown, the Bronx and Brooklyn.

46. I'm petrified of roller coasters.

47. I think I talk way too much.

48. I'm always feeling like I'm doing or saying the wrong thing.

49. I can't look at anything too graphic because it stays in my mind for a very long time (gore, guts & blood).

50. I love walking in the woods.

51. Even though I like down time, I get energy from being around people.

52. My age doesn't bother me.  I never think, "Oh no!"  "I'm 52."


There you have it!  52 facts that you probably didn't care to know.  :-)  

So now you know....

I'm fifty-two and I hate shoes!