It's Good To Be Me?

...hmmm...yes. I still have to do my "Why It's Good To Be Me" tag. Sweet Sandi will expect it and I know I have missed doing others about which I feel so ashamed. So, that said, let me try this.... I KNOW I am lucky in so many ways. I KNOW I have wonderful things in my life. I did so want to do this list differently, and yes, knowing me, you would expect something rawther silly as well. The differently part escaped me but it is hard for me to turn off the silly meter for too long. Now, the picture alone is silly enough right? Why it is good to be me. Hmmm....okay. I am overweight, 51, be-speckled, have 2 flaky hands and 2 very bad knees due to injuries in my 40s. And these are good? Well, I can walk and, on a very good day, I can even dance. You should see me. Or not. I can chase my dog when I need to. Like today. These legs ache all too often and their beauty is definitely not insured for $1,000,000,000, or $1.98 even, but they work. Most of the time. My arms are on the old flabby side but they can give a hug, lug laundry downstairs, carry groceries into the house and flip a mattress. I am a champion mattress flipper baby. These hands are starting to show their age but they can still offer a mean foot rub, pet the cats, write a letter, make a sandwich, create a drawing or scrapbook page, plant Spring flowers and braid my daughter's hair, albeit, not well. Ask her. Oh will she tell you. The be-speckled eyes have never seen distances well and are now finding it harder to see up close but heck. They can still gaze upon my loved one's faces, revel in a beautiful sunset, delight in seeing Brian Dennehy in a few stage productions and read a spellbinding novel. Yep, I am overweight but, if I can put the best spin on it, it means I have never wanted for food and am able to delight in many delicious dining out experiences. Leave it to silly old me to try and make something good out of being tubby! It is good to be me because I have never fully left my childhood behind. Huh? You see, I may be 51 chronologically but, in my heart and spirit, I am 8. 6 on a bad day. I still believe in Santa Claus, fairies, angels, good triumphing over evil, Disney movies and tea parties. I still have that bit of childhood whimsy that loves teddy bears, blowing fluffy milkweed seeds into the wind, naming every living creature that I see (Just query old Clancy the Spider who currently resides just below one of our garage lanterns) and thinks that cartoons are sometimes the best thing on television. I doubt that any childhood is ever *perfect* but I sure had a great one. I had parents that loved me, kept me safe and gave me everything they could. I took a few vacations every year, some that included Disneyland and Disney World, New York City & many of our country's large cities and every National Park in the USA. I spent Summers on the family farm in Tennessee playing with my cousins and knew every single family in our Ohio neighborhood. I rode my bicycle till dark, caught lightening bugs and fed every mosquito within a 40 mile radius. I had very doting Grandparents, pets, a sweet bedroom filled with things I loved and joy filled holidays to remember. I went to the same school from Kindergarten through 8th grade and am still close to many of the kids with whom I shared those years. In fact, several of them are my life long bosom buddies, the ones I know would offer up a kidney if I needed it. I was 10 when my brother was born and I was tickled to death by his arrival. He sometimes drove me crazy, still does, but I adore him. Heck, I drive him crazy too, right Jim? We have have yelled and fumed and fussed. But I would do ANYTHING for him and I know he is there for me. I am not at all delusional. Well, about this subject at least. We will not talk about those OTHER subjects about which I *AM* delusional...ahem. The *picture perfect childhood* it was not. President Kennedy was shot and killed, as was Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. My Dad was injured in the line of duty as a fire fighter. Both of my Grandfathers passed away during my later childhood years. I suffered from the same childish angst that most kids do. My parents were not perfect. They argued and lost their patience with us occasionally. Not that I did not deserve that don'tcha know. But the bottom line is this: they loved each other and loved their children. I had everything I needed and most of what I wanted. In other words, I was a happy kid. A Captain Kangaroo watching, Bobby Sherman loving, Barbie Dream House playing, Pixy Sticks and wax lips eating, white cotton KEDs wearing, Mickey Mouse Club watching happy kid. I never intended to marry at 21. I planned to graduate from college, spend the Summer in England and then find a job in New York City. Well, what is it they say about God and life and plans? I also never thought I would fall so deeply in love with a long haired Anthropology major in torn blue jeans. But fall I did. It is good to be me because, after almost 30 years together, I still keep falling. I never did work in NYC or spend a whole Summer in England but I have been to both places and it was better because I was with HIM. I have lived all over the US, loved the military, hated the military & moved 10 more times after it quit being exciting. I have cried myself to sleep after he deployed for months on end, after a major argument and with joy when he returned from the Gulf War. There were days I thought I hated him, days I loved him so much I ached. Our life together has been filled with the wonderful, the horrible and the crazy. In other words, it has been quite normal! Over all, it has been a sweet life, a happy marriage and a true friendship. I would not trade any of the good, or the bad, or even the crazy for 100 Summers in England or that perfect job in New York City... It is good to be me because I have two wonderful children. Nope, we did not have biological kids but I would not love my *family through adoption* any more if they had been. I can not swap tales of labor and delivery and the precious new born baby snuggled in my arms but I do have sweet stories about how our children came into our lives. I have no doubt that these 2 human beings were supposed to be MY children. And they ARE my children in every sense of the word.

They can be silly, obstinate, loud, messy, self absorbed, giving, cute, fun, annoying and doting. In short, they are just like any child born into a family. They just arrived via airplane rather than on the back of a stork....and I have!

It is also good to be me because I have been blessed time and time again by my treasured blogging friends. Just today I received a precious award from Penny, one of the loveliest ladies in the world, which humbled me. All of you mean so very much to me and you have given me far more joy and love than I deserve. With you I have laughed and cried, from you I have found inspiration and enlightenment. God Bless You All.

And it is good to be YOU because this list has finally come to an end! Yippee! Love and Hugs, Susie Q