Hootin’ Anni’s

Our hostess for Fun Monday this week, Southern Doll, asks us:

I commented that my life has been kept very simple. At my own accord. Not that I’m lazy, or not that I’ve had no interest in accomplishing great feats that would make me world famous. I have always admired the hard worker, the stable person who doesn’t skip jobs every five or six years. I have grown up in a generation where you are a very loyal and accomplished person if you remain at your job for 20-30 years [the same company/organization] and retire. And at times I’ve been accused of having high hopes; that I’d be lucky to have just a good husband…then other times people around me told me I had a good head on my shoulders that anything is possible.

Then, as I grew up I had dreams for my future:

1] Graduate
2] Marry
3] Have two children
4] Work outside the home ONLY if it’s a job that I can have where when my kids are out of school for vacations, I’d too be home with them [I grew up with a stay at home mom and I learned early the value of having a parent home instead of being a 'latch key kid' to fend for myself. Who's to know just what kind of trouble I'd be in if it weren't for my mother being home when I got home. Also, the two of them...my parents...a very stable and loving couple for over fifty years.]
5] Retire Young
6] Live by the Ocean
7] Perhaps have grandchildren
8] See my two kids accomplish high goals that they made for themselves.
9] Grow old with hubby.

That’s about it.

Here I’m working through the school as head receptionist -Just before graduation and my graduation gift from the city –a trip to Washington D.C.[where I ended up staying from June through September - came back home to the same job & met my future hubby]

Well, I did graduate[1], and registering for college under my belt ’til I met and married[2] a super man. [not Superman, but super man]. And to count my lucky stars, but, dear man wanted five kids…I put the hipper dipper to that crock idea real quick! I stated while we were dating, two kids, and two kids only. Well, we were very fortunate to have one of each; two kids[3].

~Me & both of kids
A girl first and then a boy to carry on the family name [looks like the family name stops with his generation tho...I doubt he will marry. But, things tend to happen over night sometimes...so, who knows]. Anyway, after our youngest, the boy was born…no more kids. I didn’t want the rest of my younger years bound to nurturing small ones all my days. We stopped having kids. Then, I concentrated on raising them to be upstanding citizens while working[4] at the same school district where our children enrolled. Our daughter is now on her way to becoming a minister [she also will further her education if those 'plans of mice and men' become real...and be a minister of counseling for abused spouses --and she has vehemently stated she wants to work with both men and women who've been abused in any situation.] Our son’s goals were to go to the Marine Corps upon graduating from high school…he graduated in June and was in boot camp that September. [That, sad to say, tore me apart...during the gulf war and I didn't want to lose him in combat. But I also didn't want him to see my terror and concern for this...so that in itself was a very big accomplishment for me. To stand proud at his graduation and be strong for his sake.] His goal, at this time in his life was to finish his four years serving his country then go beyond that point and get a doctorate in ‘economics’….I have that in quotes ’cause after the Marine Corps he changed it to doctorate in history. He’s now a College Professor in Houston, and making investments for himself AND his clients.

~Me as Bride to be -in Wedding Dress -Veil
Our marriage… It’s been blissful for nearly 40 years. Forty years in less than one month. That is another great accomplishment. I have my parents instilling in me some qualities and foresight into marriage that has given me strength to give what I can to making a good marriage work. Of course there is a 50% credit that goes to Bud too. He’s been very good to me.

And retire early? Yes, we’ve been fortunate enough to have a nice nest egg and a mortgageless home before we both turned 50.[5] And Bud bought out his retirement from the Government job he’d worked steadily for for over 20 years. [You had to be 55 before one can retire and draw retirement with a government job]…He was younger than 55 when we decided to call it quits to schedules and 8-5 hours. Retire early, we did.

Then, the having a house on the ocean. You don’t know how many days in my 50 years in Colorado that I sat by the living room window with 4 or more feet of snow and temps down to the below freezing mark, wishing for a home on the beach. Of course we wanted our kids to have a whole ‘one school district’ lifestyle. We opted to wait ’til they left the nest.

But we didn’t make it to the ‘beach’ vicinity ’til we spent a few years of retirement near the Tucson golf courses. LOL –that too got tiresome. The white hot skies of summer in the desert was not for us. Oh sure, it was great the first few years…but when they say “it’s a dry heat”…they’re not talking during the months of the monsoon season!!! Trust me…it’s not dry then!!! Temps nearing the 100 degree mark by 10 a.m. and the humidity of 90-100 per cent –for about two or three months.

~Just minutes from home
Finally, I said, “It’s time to get our house by the ocean”. We put the house on the market…I flew down here to do some market research, found a home, signed a contract, flew back home to hubby and started packing…all in a month’s time. Of course, our home is NOT ON the beach because of the gulf water power surges in the summer if and when a hurricane would hit our city. —I was ‘smart enough’ not to be THAT close to the shoreline. We are residing within a 15 minute drive to Padre Island [N.] now.[6] And I’m content.

Very content; as a grandmother[7], retired before I turned 50, two wonderful kids, a great hubby to grow old with —and a dream location to reside.

I know I’m definitely not going to leave any earth shattering legacy when I leave, except hopefully to be remembered with love of my family as a good wife, a good mother and perhaps a woman who was wise enough to not set her goals too high to not accomplish her dream[s].