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Random Thoughts, Day 4

10 Unforgettable Moments in my Life
(in no particular order)

1. That day, in 4th grade, when I was pulled out of Mr. Goertz's class to be told that my sister had had a baby girl. Brianne and I are 10 years apart and I never made her call me "Aunt Amy" because it made me sound old, I reasoned. I remember being so excited when I found out earlier that morning that she was on her way and so extremely pissed that my mother wouldn't let me miss school to go to the hospital with her and wait. September 25. It's coming up soon, Bri!

2. When I found out my brother was getting married to a woman with two kids! Two little, adorable, blonde toddlerish kids!! And then when they went on to have two more of their own...gosh, I love my nieces and nephews!

3. Anything having to do with Henry. The day we found out we were pregnant, the day we found out our peanut was a boy (via ultrasound), the day he was born, and pretty much every day since...our lives have changed forever. Whatever did we do with all that free time we must've had before! Now I can't imagine life without him. He's my Hennerbean. Love him to pieces.

4. The day we had to put our dog Ansel down. He'd become aggressive, and the docs thought something had gone haywire in his brain. Broke our hearts. I've maybe never cried so much.

5. My first meeting with my now-husband. We ate lunch in Applebee's in St. Joseph, Mo., and I kept telling myself "he's a nice guy, but I'm not interested" because I'd just broken it off with a jerk and was swearing off men. It took a couple more months of baseball games, movies, and meals as friends for us to decide to officially date. Needless to say, I'm glad things changed.

6. Confronting my roommate freshman year of college, telling her I knew she had an eating disorder. I worried about her. I was afraid of her (because she threatened to kill me if I told anyone). I hated her for eating my snacks and then puking them up. I didn't understand how someone so beautiful could hate herself so much. I wanted to kill her when she started dating the guy I liked. Wow. I can honestly say I'm not so sad we lost touch.

7. Talking on the phone with my parents after they'd found out that my dad had prostate cancer. A senior in college, I'd never really faced anything so scary as a close family member having an awful disease. He ended up having surgery and has been cancer-free ever since, so it's all good. At the time, I imagined every awful scenario possible. Twice or three times over.

8. Going to prom with someone I barely knew and having the most miserable time. It was junior year, I was head of the prom program committee, so I felt like I had to go. I didn't want to go alone. My friend Brandy fixed me up with her cousin. Disaster. He was an immature, rude, not very attractive and not attracted to me, jerk. The next year, I learned my lesson. On prom night my senior year, Mom and I went to a stage play of Steel Magnolias. She was a terrific date!

9. The day during my pregnancy when I realized I'd lost my engagement ring and wedding band. I don't even want to talk about it. We never found it, and I've been silently miserable ever since.

10. Hiking the Grand Canyon on the day of my grandmother's funeral. We were on our honeymoon when she died, and my mother insisted that we continue and skip the funeral because Grandmother would have wanted it that way. I've had mixed feelings about the decision ever since, but hiking part of the canyon on that sunny spring morning felt like a sort of tribute to an adventurous lady who lived her 86 years to the fullest.

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