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25. At the age of 5, I held my first baby. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a mother.
24. When I was 8, I knew I wanted to be a midwife.
23. I have seen over 28 live births in my lifetime, but never became a midwife.
22. I am very, very lucky to have a partner that is a great Mom to our son and puts up with my various moods. She also know how to play, which I adore.
21. I love raw chocolate chip cookie dough even through it might make me sick.
20. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a firefighter after watching 'Emergency' on TV. I stopped dreaming about it when I was told girls weren’t firefighters. At 24 I started started dreaming again when I found out the SFFD was recruiting women.
19. I consider myself a good friend- mother –daughter and wife.
18. It scares me when people get angry around me.
17. In high school and college I studied Spanish and learned the language. I seriously debated giving it up every time I had a Spanish test.
16. I had dreams that I hadn’t completed high school all the way into my late 30’s.
15. I love the escape and adventure of science fiction.
14. I often feel claustrophobic while doing back bends in my yoga class.
13. I have watched two of my dearest friends die from breast cancer. Without Breast Cancer, I wouldn’t have my wife. Then Breast Cancer went after my wife as well. We beat that one.
12. I never imagined how much joy I would get from having a son. It was like giving my heart legs and watching it run around.
11. I can change out electrical fixtures and outlets on my own. I can paint and repair almost anything in the house.
10. I am incredibly organized and feel peaceful when my house and desk are clean.
9. I kept none of my friends from high school. I kept most of my friends from college. It was a conscious choice.
8. I took up oil painting as a way to be with my wife while she was shooting photos.
7. Art and learning to play the piano again probably saved my marriage.
6. When I was in middle school I would dress up like a mime and go entertain the kids at the local hospital. I was completely unconscious about how silly I must have looked.
5. I traveled with on a peace tour sponsored by the Quakers to Russia in 1988. The only Russian words I remember are mnp and and дружба (peace and friendship).
4. I taught myself sign language in 7th grade. Finger spelling was the only way I was able to learn how to spell. I still finger spell something if I am trying to figure out the correct way to write a word.
3. I believe my friends smooth out the rough parts and embolden the happy parts.
2. I don’t know how God works, but I believe it has something to do with love.
1. I am continually surprised how well my life turned out. I didn’t imagine it this way.