Thursday, October 1, 2009

about me.

It just occurred to me that many of you don't know anything about me. Other than the fact that I have curly hair, I'm married to an Airman, I have a dog, and I live in Virginia. Oh, and I have the two cutest nephews in all the land.

But there is so much more. It would be a shame to hide all of my life's stories from you. Really. So a timeline was born:



September 18, 1987: My mother goes in labor. I am born after enduring a tragic vacuum extraction. I have a cone-head and my mom hopes that I don't always look like that. I met my sister for the first time and it was love at first sight. Well, maybe. At least she was at love first sight with me.

Spring 1990: My loving older sister hits me (accidentally) in the face as she swings her bat. Stitches are required.

Fall 1991: I fall off a toy fire engine at school and hit my chin. I didn't cry or tell anyone I was hurt, even though my chin was gashed open. The teacher finally saw it, and I had stitches later that day.

Fall 1993: We get a puppy. He is a Cocker Spaniel. I want to name him Copper after Fox and the Hound, but my family votes against me. We name him Topper. He has a white spot on his head, and he is really hyper. I also start Junior Bible Quiz, which will be my extra curricular activity of choice for the next 6 years. I am unbelievably quiet and scared. I don't buzz in and answer a question at all. Not once.

Winter 1993: I trip on my untied shoelaces as I'm running with my dad through the church parking lot. I hit my chin. Surprise, surprise. Stitches are needed.

Spring 1994: I begin writing short stories. And, although my spelling is atrocious, my teacher tells my parents that I have a true gift for writing. My favorite short story includes a little girl who throws up on her couch and gets vomit everywhere. I love school.

Spring 1996: I decide to ask Jesus into my heart and become a Christian. I am baptized a few weeks later in our church's baptistery - which is conveniently decorated for our Easter pageant as the Jordan River. I feel a little bit like John the Baptist.

Fall 1998: The high school band director attends school and offers us all to join the band. I immediately choose the clarinet to be just like my big sister. The band director asks me if I will become just like her, and I say yes.

Spring 1998: I like band alright, but I find that conveniently "forgetting" my instrument at home allows me to stay in class and talk to my friends. I skip about half of band practice.

Spring 2000: I am obsessed with N*Sync and the Backstreet Boys. I even receive a Backstreet Boys' poster for Christmas, and I am thrilled. My favorite things include nachos and sleepovers with my friends. I am also passionately creating home videos with my friends and making spoofs of popular shows, such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Fall 2001: I make the decision to be great at music. I decide that I want to be the best, in fact, so I start devoting all my time to my clarinet. I find out that I am bad at biology and better at English than I thought.

Fall 2002: I decide to try out for All-District. I make it.

Fall 2003: I get my first car. It is a Pontiac Sunfire. I love it. I also make All-District, am chosen for Honors Band, and try out for All-State. I make it. I am thrilled to pieces as I join the best high school musicians in the state for a weekend and play music. I am in heaven. Well, musical heaven.

Winter 2004: My first nephew is born. His name is Clayton. I love him the instant I see him.

Spring 2005: I get in my first wreck. It was my fault. I pulled out of a parallel parking spot and I hit a car. Oops. Later, I graduate high school and decide to become a nurse. I have high hopes of someday working at St. Judes Children's Hospital. I also make All-State again. I am one of the only people who does not raise my hand when the conductor asks which of us will major in music in college.

Fall 2005: I make a startling decision to quit music. I come to terms with the fact that I will never teach music, and I will never perform professionally. I resort to becoming a member of the Kentucky Summer Concert Series and play in my church's orchestra to fulfill my musical desires. I start college. I take Anatomy & Physiology with Juniors and Seniors. I am the only Freshman in the class.

Spring 2006: I perform a tracheotomy on a live rat. I expose the rat's lungs to oxygen. Rat doesn't die, so I am forced to cut out its heart. I perform resuscitation on the rat and feel a little bit Grey's Anatomy. Rat's tiny heart beats in my hand, and I love it. Later, I nearly faint as my own blood is drawn for testing in class. I realize that nursing is not for me.

Fall 2006: I meet Mark. A boy from church. I am cruising through classes preparing me for nursing school. Only, they are hard. It is becoming more and more clearer that nursing is definitely not my calling and that Mark is my calling. We begin dating on September 25th.


EDIT*********
Fall 2007: I realize my calling is to work with children, in some capacity or another, and I change my major to Exceptional Education. I begin taking classes in literacy, education, and more math. ***

Spring 2008: Mark asks me to marry him at our local Cracker Barrel. I say yes. We have a party the following day.

Summer 2008: My second nephew is born. His name is Hudson. I watch his birth. I am changed forever, and I love him the instant I see him.

Fall 2008: We make the decision for Mark to join the Air Force. He signs his papers in October and takes his test. I am not very excited.

Winter 2009: We are married on January 10th and leave for a cruise the next day. We snorkel, eat delicious food, and enjoy the Caribbean Islands. We love one another and cherish the two weeks we have together. Mark leaves for BMT on January 26th.

Spring 2009: I start a blog while Mark is away. I begin it in February. I decide that I love blogging, and it becomes therapy for me during the hard time. He graduates BMT on March 26th, and I travel to San Antonio to see him. In May, I graduate from Western Kentucky University with a bachelor's degree.


and, of course, the rest is "history" on my blog :]


If you have any burning questions about my life, please feel free to ask! Are you curious as to what my favorite book is? The scariest thing that's ever happened to me? My favorite food? My favorite childhood memory? Anything is up for grabs - just ask!





11 comments:

  1. Oh, Shannon, this is so cute! I just might copy you. You know, after I study for my horrific exam tomorrow.

    :]

    ReplyDelete
  2. Did you graduate with a nursing degree?

    ReplyDelete
  3. oops. I need to fix that. NOPE! I can't believe I forgot to mention that! HA...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I feel like I can now say, with complete honesty-----

    I love your life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! I stumbled across your blog when reading MckMama's blog. I felt like I had a lot in common with you, being a air force wife, since the beginning of marriage almost 6 years ago. We live in Japan right now and I just wanted to put my self out there if you ever have any air force wife questions. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Has anyone ever told you that you look like Lily on the Young & Restless??

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi! Thanks! I always have lots of questions, so I'll be asking them, I'm sure! Ha!

    and no, no one has ever told me that I looked like Lily.. but my mom LOVES that show, so I'll have to tell her. Haaa!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The Rat thing grosses me out!! I didn't know you did that. Maybe it's because I don't like rats, mice or anything at all. eck. the thought of touching one that is ALIVE just grosses me out.

    good for you not being a girly girl. :)

    i love this idea. If I could remember the time stuff happened in my life, I'd copy you. But I can't. So, instead, I'll just marvel at yours. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. hahaaaaaaaaaaa. I didn't tell the REAL rat story.

    it was alive. it went in a gas chamber and got "put to sleep" .. only ours wasn't 100% asleep. when we cut into him, he would squeak with pain. it was tragic. sigh.

    they keep the rat murders a secret on campus so the PETA people don't come charging through the doors :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. What kind of job would you do with a degree in exceptional education...teaching? Have you applied to Old Dominion University yet?

    ReplyDelete
  11. exceptional education IS special ed :) so, yes, teaching! "special ed" is a term of the past. and, nope, haven't applied to Old Dominion yet! I have to apply for my military spouse grant first!

    ReplyDelete