One sentence per year of my life

AfrIndie Mum had this meme on her blog, so I thought I’d give it a shot.

1. 1. Born at Swedish Covenant hospital in Chicago, placed with Lake Bluff Homes for Children.  Lucky me, I was adopted. 
2. 2. My grandmother died, which still makes me sad because she was the only other redhead in my adoptive family.  I wish I’d known her.
3. 3. We moved into the house I’d live in until I was 17
4. 4. I was still sleeping in a crib.  My brothers came in with bottles of bubble bath which looked like super hero's from our grandparents.  One of them told me I was adopted, but I remember knowing I already knew that.
5. 5. I started kindergarten.  I had a teacher who I can still picture in my mind.  She was one of the first people I ever remember treated me with kindness.
6. 6. I got my finger caught in a door at school and lost my fingernail.  The doctor and nurse sang “Jingle  Bells” with me while they sewed my finger back together.  When we got home, my mother watched General Hospital while I laid there.  That same year, a girl in my class wet her pants.  I walked home with her to change them.  We stayed friends for many years.  My parents didn’t like me hanging around with her – she was poor.
7. 7. Our class was having a valentines day party.  I only got a valentine from the girl I’d walked home the previous year.  I gave a valentine to every kid in the class.  I was crushed.  One of my brothers started molesting me this year.  I now know this is also the year one of his teachers began molesting him.
8. 8. My uncle died, right before Christmas.  I knew something had happened before I got home from school.  No idea how, I just knew.  It was horrible.  He was my favorite in all the world.  I still miss him almost 30 years later.
9. 9. I was extremely intelligent, part of the “gifted” program.  As a result, I was put in a split class.  The smartest 4th graders and the “dumbest” 5th graders.  I was in 4th grade, obviously.  The teacher always made you say, “May I…” instead of “Can I…”  Guess which grade caught on to this early and which grade did not?  Played piano in Grant Park in Chicago.  My father was too busy watching a Cubs game to show up.
10. 10. I had a teacher who was OCD about germs.  If you sneezed, someone else had to pull out your chair, open the door, etc. so you could go to the bathroom and wash your hands.  This was also the year I joined band.  I’d been reading music for years so was way ahead of the other kids my age.  I took some sort of test and for the next few years, all I got to hear was how intelligent I was and asked why was I wasting it?
11. 11. I was really good in band and got to go to the Junior High every morning to have band practice with the older band.  Another kid in the band used to bring in articles he cut from the newspaper about my brother being arrested…again and again and again. 
12. 12. I started 7th Grade and found that my 6th grade teacher had moved to the Jr. High – I was horrified, I hated her.  I learned all about “Advanced” classes since I was placed in every one of them.
13. 13. I ended up taking Industrial Arts and though I had absolutely no talent at the time, I really enjoyed it.  The summer after 8th grade, one of the kids in my class blew off a bunch of his fingers trying to build a giant firecracker.  Stupid.  Won first place at the solo competition playing Carnival of Venice, the easy version.
14. 14. Freshman year.  Still in band.  Immediately bumped into Concert band for the older kids instead of Varsity.  Won first place at the solo competition playing Carnival of Venice - again – but this time, I did the full version.  Told my mother what my brother had been doing to me – she chose to decide I was lying.  That kind of thing couldn’t possibly happen in her house.  Wrong answer.
15. 15. Discovered theatre at the end of Freshman year, got fully involved Sophomore year.  I did props for the non-musicals, orchestra for the musicals.  Was accepted into Jazz Band as well.  I really was damn good. 
16. 16. Got raped, got an abortion, got my drivers license and first job – ‘nuff said.
17. 17. Got thrown out of the house.  Started learning how to survive.
18. 18. Graduated, enlisted in the Navy. 
19. 19. Met my (then) future (now) ex husband.  Started having sex with him. 
20. 20. Pregnant with my oldest.  Got married a few months after he was born.
21. 21. Pregnant with my middle.  God only knows why I was still married.  Had a startling revelation while looking at a picture of my oldest and a picture of me at the same age – we were almost identical.  First time I ever saw someone who looked like me.  Wow.
22. 22. Pregnant with my youngest.  Still married, still stupid.  But very much in love with my kids.  Went through hell getting my youngest through his first few months of life. 
23. 23. Generally making a mess of things and realizing that getting married was really incredibly stupid but at least I had three miracles to show for it. 
24. 24. Trying to put my life in order, working as a medic, trying to keep my head above water.
25. 25. Wash, rinse, repeat.
26. 26. Wash, rinse, repeat.
27. 27. Wash, rinse, repeat.
28. 28. Met a really great guy.  Liked him.  Thought I’d never see him again.  Moved to Michigan.  Met same really great guy again.  Started dating him.  Stopped speaking to adoptive family.
29. 29. Really in love with guy now.  Accept his proposal.  Adopt cats together.  Move to our new house.  Father died – good riddance.
30. 30. Lost too many friends on September 11th.  Alternated between wanting to crawl in a hole and hide and wanting to change the world for the better.
31. 31. Married that really great guy – one of the absolute best decisions I’ve ever made. 
32. 32. Still unbelievably happily married – traveling with hubby for his work – working for non-profit organization doing IT/Web design and support.
33. 33. Wash, rinse, repeat.
34. 34. Tired of being on the road, hubby takes job back in Michigan in a lovely rural area – now we’re house hunting and putting down roots again.  Searching for birth family, finally.  Wish I hadn’t put it off so long but realize I’d have had no chance of finding them until now.
35. 35. Still to come in two months and only getting better!

So what about you?  Share yours, either here or on your own blog!