365 Days to 30/365 People Who Were Along for the Ride

Day #365 - Charlie

**Note: These posts have been written in advance to prepare for the Little Guy’s arrival. He very well could be here by the time this posts, but at the time of writing, he’s still kicking away in my belly, telling me he’s ready for dinner.**

Well, here we are. I picked the first person and let the random number generator do the rest. But I’m picking the last day. Because these were 364 people who have been along for the ride in my first 30 years, and the little guy, well, he’ll undoubtedly be my life for the next 30 years.

Ken and I were married for more than seven years when we decided to have a baby. When the baby boy arrives, we’ll have almost been married for eight and a half years, and known each other for a decade. We have a very happy, healthy, little life. Good jobs, a nice home, great families. This baby is not the case of something missing from our lives, but rather the idea of making something great even greater.

When the pregnancy test turned positive, I was hesitant. We didn’t really celebrate, because we had an early miscarriage earlier in the year. I didn’t want to celebrate until I knew you were real, that you were growing and thriving. I was so scared to lose you. There were a few times there where we thought we were. But you fought and you grew strong. And now we can’t wait to celebrate your arrival.

Neither of us know what this next chapter will be like. I can read parenting books until my eyes are bleary and the night turns to day. I hope baby boy is patient with us because we are figuring this out as we go. We will love him. Unconditionally. And that’s the best we can offer. But it’s a good offer.

I remember when we started talking about having a baby, I asked Ken why he thought we should add another person to the world. He said something like, “I know that I won’t find the cure for cancer or AIDS, and that I might not change the world, but this little person, they could.”

No pressure, right? Don’t worry, little man, we don’t expect you to find the key to ending world hunger. We will be happy if you live a good, productive life and add something to society, even if it’s simply being a friend, a father, a husband. Because really, the 364 people I’ve talked about here – they were all someone, at least to me. And they always will be.

The end.

Day #364 - Donn D.

Donn is my mother’s cousin and the keeper of all things having to do with our family’s ancestry. Someone like this is so valuable to every family. I know my mom really values Donn and all he knows about our family because both of her parents passed away quite a long time ago. Donn knew her parents and all her aunts and uncles, and has a good memory for what different situations were.

I hope Donn knows how much we appreciate his memory and the time he has put in to keeping our family’s information!

Day #363 - Kim M.

Kim is our newest next door neighbor, and yes, she is pregnant, with a boy – OF COURSE!

We hadn’t been friends with the people that previously lived in this house (friendly, but not friends) and when I heard it was a young couple moving in, I was really excited. We met Kim and Chris before they even moved in and I knew instantly we’d be friends. She is tall (taller than me), my age, and talkative. I love it. I love walking out and having our brief conversations before work. I love driving up and she’s outside and catching up. I can’t wait for our little boys to get to know each other.

Day #362 - Tom K.

Tom is my first cousin, the only boy among my aunt Grace and uncle Bruce’s children (poor guy, right?) This photo cracks me up!

You know I have a lot of fond memories of my Kirk cousins from growing up, and a lot of them involve Tom. I have a feeling he was the instigator in a lot of our “chase” games in their backyard and at our family reunions.

Tom is older than me and got married when I was in middle school (I think? Maybe elementary school). I really like his wife Andrea (who just feels like one of the cousins now) and it’s always good to see them both and catch up.

Day #361 - Erin F.

Erin was a high school friend and a basketball teammate. She was tall and blonde – smart and fun at the same time. I remember our similarity was that we both had REALLY long legs that our couch would yell at us constantly to JUST USE! Erin and her older sister were really important parts of the team, and I remember pre-game dinners at their house and them leading cheers on the bus on the way to games.

I haven’t seen Erin in year (I think the last time we saw her, Ken and I randomly ran into her in a restaurant up in Wilmington). I’m sure she’s just as blonde and smart as ever! (Erin is on the far right of this photo).

Day #360 - George C.

George is one of my classmates in my graduate program. He is as Irish as the get – a jolly, jolly redhead. I love having classes with George because I know he’ll add a touch of humor – through his writing and his comments. He is finishing the program with his thesis this spring, so it will be sad to know I’ll never walk into another classroom with George!

Day #359 - Lynn S.

Lynn is my aunt, my mom’s sister, who lives in Nevada. She is the second oldest among my mom’s five siblings (my mom is the oldest). For a long time she lived near Philadelphia, and then moved to Nevada.

I have several memories of Lynn that stand out in my mind, but the biggest is the time she was visiting and at the time, she was selling Mary Kay products. I was a teenager, and she asked me if I wanted her to do a makeover. Of course I did. I loved it – loved her doting on me with skin products, and makeup, and the like. It wasn’t until the next day when I woke up covered in hives that it wasn’t so fun. ;)

I hadn’t seen Lynn in years, but she came to visit at the beach a few years ago and it was great to see her. She hasn’t changed a bit!

Day #358 - Fred H.

Can you name the three astronauts that were members of the Apollo 13 crew? Fred was one of them. He graduated with an engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma, and when I worked there he was given one of the distinguished graduate awards (yeah, I think being an astronaut makes you pretty distinguished).

I remember being so nervous to meet this guy. He’d had a movie made out of something he did in his life, for pete’s sake! But he couldn’t have been nicer or more humble.

Day #357 - Brooke J.

Brooke was one of my friends in the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade range. (And maybe even in to middle school). She’s someone I haven’t been able to find on Facebook, and I’m not sure she would even remember me. I do remember many days and weekends spent at Brooke’s house but the one thing I really remember was that her brother had epilepsy. Isn’t that random? He was older and I remember that he drove an old convertible, but had his license taken away when he had a seizure.

Odd what’s stayed stored in this brain of mine!

Day #356 - Claire R.

Claire was a fellow Navy spouse when we lived in Oklahoma. She and her family now live not that far south of us in Maryland.

I always liked spending time with Claire in Oklahoma. When we were there, she didn’t have kids either, and the two of us were pretty active in the “Wives Club” and worked on a lot of fundraisers and other events together. Some wives weren’t as nice, but it was always fun to spend those times with Claire.

Day #355 - Susan H.

Susan is a classmate of mine in the Hopkins writing program. We’ve had a few classes together and it’s always nice to walk in on the first day and see her smiling face there.

She is a teacher and I love hearing her stories. Her kids are lucky to have her as a teacher. She’s a great writer, which I can only imagine translates well into teaching. She is also a voracious reader.

Day #354 - Randy

Randy is a good guy. He was my Pop Pop’s apprentice at Paper Services, the company he owned and operated until the week he died. I believe Randy and his family have since taken over the company.

My Pop Pop didn’t have any family living close to him, and Randy was very much there for him. He is a good old Midwestern boy, a hardworker, and was always so nice to our family and so good to my Pop Pop.

I remember the week of my grandfather’s funerals (a lot of which was spent with Randy and his family), Randy told us the story of how when he came back to his house the day my Pop Pop died, someone had lowered the flag in his hard to half-staff. He asked around and couldn’t find anyone who had done it. He told me it was just like my Pop Pop to have done something like that. It made me smile.

Day #353 - Rachel L.

Rachel was one of the original Fontwerks girls and I was honored to be asked to join the design team ESPECIALLY because I really admired Rachel’s work.

She is from Canada and has that fantastic accent. Whenever we would get together at trade shows, I always walked away feeling like I was talking like my Canadian friends. And I loved it!

Rachel is the momma to three adorable kids and has left the scrapbooking world to pursue a real passion of hers – photography.

Day #352 - Thu N.

Thu (pronounced two) was one of my sorority sisters at Lehigh. She was wild and crazy and smart. Always fun to be around. She was one of those friends that I lost touch with after graduating, but it’s been fun catching up with her lately on Facebook and it looks like she’s still crazy (and smart).

Day #351 - Amanda P.

Amanda is a scrapbooking friend that I surprisingly have never met in person! She is a great momma and a really talented scrapbooker. Last year, she asked me to take part in her book (Month by Month Scrapbooking). It’s always a big deal to me when a scrapbooker that I admire asks me to work on a project with them, and this was just the case with Amanda.

Day #350 - Ted

I have no idea who Ted is that sent me these flowers. I think maybe he had a crush on me. I had a bad day in high school – I probably got a bad grade, and I think I had a fight with my basketball coach. All I know is that a bunch of flowers showed up the next day with this note attached. I’ve saved the note. I don’t know why – maybe it’s the sentiment – or the idea that on a really bad day, someone cared.

Day #349 - Tonya Harding

I met Nancy, I had to meet Tonya too, right?!? I actually met Tonya, backstage at a show, after the whole Nancy Kerrigan drama. And I have to admit…She came across as a lot nicer than Nancy. N.K. made some comments in my ear shot that made me think she was a snob. Tonya was nothing but gracious and actually pleasant. Now, that was probably just those five minutes I was around her…But nonetheless, she was!

Day #348 - Hillel K.

Hillel was one of the assistant deans at the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma when I worked there. He was older than me, older than my parents, but somehow he took a liking to this new girl. And it was my gain. He was a pleasure to work with – listening to my insight, offering his perspective when he thought it would add something to the project.

There are two things I remember most about Hillel. The first was that he worked out a lot, and so did I. We always saw each other at the gym, and he always came over to chit chat and talk to me about staying in shape. The second thing I remember was that when he heard I had never had “chicken fried steak” he was appalled. So one lunch, he took me out to the most Oklahoma-ish ma and pop diner. He ordered himself a chicken fried steak and I think I got a Caesar salad. Just like my mom or dad used to, he cut off a piece of his steak and put it on my plate. I have to say, it was good, but I don’t think I’ve eaten it since!

I often wonder where life has taken Hillel and hope that he is well.

Day #347 - Meckenzie B.

Ahhh where to start? Meckenzie might just be the only person left reading this blog. So it’s appropriate that her name would come up in the last few weeks of its existence.

I told the story of how Meckenzie’s mom and my mom met each other before the two of us arrived at Lehigh. Meckenzie and I became fast friends our freshman year. Many nights were spent back and forth between each others rooms, trips to the dining hall, and even trips to Meckenzie’s (the local among our group) old high school to watch football games. There were nights spent taking care of each other after a little too much partying. All of my best memories from college include Meckenzie. All of them.

Meckenzie made magical mix CDs. I would love a new one for when the baby arrives. She is a great judge of character and I always felt like we were on the same page.

Meckenzie was a wonderful bridesmaid and always so supportive of Ken and my relationship. And ever since the day after our wedding, she’s been asking if I was knocked up. And I’m pretty sure she would be happy if we named the baby Meckenzie if it was a boy or a girl. It would be a great name because Meckenzie is a great person.

She lives out in California now with her boyfriend Andy (whom I like, except for the fact that he took her to California) and I can’t help but wish that she lived down the street and seeing her was as easy as it was those freshman days many years ago!

Day #346 - Nancy T.H.

Nancy was the human resources director at St. Paul’s when I started there. It’s not an easy job – anywhere – but Nancy was really good at it. She was always a great conversationalist and easy to talk to. I also always felt like I could implicitly trust Nancy with a problem or issue I was facing.