I was sitting down to write your birthday blog post last night, but I logged onto Facebook first. As one does. This turned out to be serendipitous. As things are.

The first post that popped up in my feed was a thank you from one friend to another. Not just a simple thank you, but a life-changing, you wrestled me from the depths of depression and gave me purpose kind of thank you. It started, “I think every year, there is someone in your life who comes along, and often unknowingly or without specific intent, gives you the boost or the confidence to take a chance and better yourself. Like a Personal Person of the Year.”

Lovely, isn’t it? Being touched by another human being to the extent that they would thank you like that? Believe it or not, you are that person for me. So, today, on your nineteenth birthday, I’m dubbing you my Personal Person of the Year. Thank you. 

You certainly didn’t know you were going to change my life when you came into the world, but you definitely did. I had a great job and good relationships, but I didn’t have a purpose. Once you arrived, I wasn’t just existing anymore. I was LIVING. And I had a reason to eat, sleep, breathe and bake chicken nuggets. Bonus.

Seventeen years ago, when you were deep in your Barney phase, there was a song about how great it would be if all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops, “…standing outside with our mouths open wide…ah, ah, ah….” But, you and I both know that life isn’t like that. If all the raindrops were lemondrops and gumdrops, it wouldn’t be all that great. Basically, we’d be getting pelted with candy.

That’s kind of how things have been. Life is sweeter, but the road to get here has been riddled with potholes because unexpected nonsense came falling from the sky. And as much as I tried to patch things so you could travel smoothly, I couldn’t. I’m so sorry for that pain. But, I’m so proud of the way you’ve pulled yourself out of those holes and paved your own way.

Two years ago, you were barely functioning. In your nineteenth year, you have been able to leave home, start a challenging college career, begin a new job AND you spend early mornings volunteering. You’ve made new friends, joined a philanthropic community, and continue to be the best daughter a mom could ever ask for. Please lower the bar, because you’re making me look bad to your grandma.

Watching you climb from darkness and thrive has given me the boost I needed. I want to be smarter, kinder, see more, do more, eat, sleep, breathe. I want to be a woman as wonderful as my daughter. That’s why you’re my Person of the Year. You didn’t know you were doing it, but you changed my life for the better.

Happy birthday, baby girl. I’m so glad you were born.

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On June 26, 2007 I wrote my first blog post. My kids looked, roughly, like this. Though it was summer, so with less parkas.

Now they are 15 and 18 and my daughter is getting ready to go to college. And, I am left staring at the same cursor that I’ve stared at a thousand times. It won’t quit blinking. I can’t stop blinking.

If you had asked me in 2007 where I saw myself in 10 years, I would have never answered that I’d be a single-mom with a career in social media. Neither of those would have seemed a remote possibility. I sure didn’t anticipate that I’d be dating the cute guy from my ninth grade history class. Sometimes, though, life is a series of fortunate events.

This space was built on good timing, networking and comedy gold in the form of my children, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the life-changing opportunities BlogHer gave me. I will be forever grateful to them for expanding this blog’s reach, providing sponsorship, and for handing over their Twitter account to a part-time lunch lady who used to tweet from her personal account after taking Ambien. If you think that’s a run-on sentence, you should have seen what I used to tweet.

If I had more time, I’d write a lot more and maybe even finish the novel I referred to in my first post – the one I started writing before blogging was a gleam in my eye. But, even if I can manage to finish that book, I can’t imagine not always having this space to return to. I’m sure I’ll appreciate it when I’m retired and traveling around the country in my RV. Wait until you hear those stories.

Forrest Gump was way off. Life is like a series of blog posts. Some days are funny, others are filled with immense pain, but mostly I’m just happy to be breathing and still in this space watching the cursor move forward. Thanks for blinking along with me.

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A few years ago I wasn’t much of a traveler. I was kind of scared to venture out and about with a sick kid at home. And we definitely didn’t have much money. For seven years, I didn’t get on a plane.

Divorce is hard. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, but a really beautiful thing happened on the way to the courthouse. I reconnected with an old friend who (spoiler alert) I fell madly in love with. But, before I fell in love with him, he helped me fall in love with traveling again.

A few weeks after we started dating he brought me along on a work trip to Tennessee. I had been to Nashville as a kid, but my only Grand Ole Opry memory was arguing with my mom because I wanted to wear jeans and she wanted me to wear a dress. I think Loretta Lynn was there, but I’m not sure because I was seven, and I WANTED TO WEAR JEANS.

Enter Andy.

So, two years ago, he brought me to Nashville. And, when I write that sentence I get a giant lump in my throat, because it was a turning point on this journey I’ve been on.

I have always loved live music. I’m an experienced concert attendee and have hundreds, if not thousands, of them under my belt. I used to travel all over the country (even the world) to see concerts, but I had never seen anything like Nashville. If you like live music, GET HERE. It’s amazing.

The talent is incomparable. The food is fantastic. The people are good. It’s clean. The weather is perfection. And, they make one hell of a bloody Mary.

But, what Nashville really gave me is a deep love for travel again. It reminded me how much I missed new experiences, and music, and meeting people, and having a spirit free enough to dance. It led to trips to nine more states and Mexico. And, it led to me coming back to Nashville over and over again.

Thank you, Andy and thank you Tennessee. You are both life-changing gifts. I’m just fine with that giant lump. It’s a reminder of how fortunate I am.

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I am a big movie fan and though I don’t get out to see them like I used to, I spend my fair share of time on Netflix. So in honor of Valentine’s Day I’m sharing my favorite romantic moments from the big screen. This is your gift from me. You’re so very welcome.

1. The Austrian Lindler Folk Dance from The Sound of Music. This is the moment Maria and Captain Von Trapp realize this is more than your typical governess/naval-captain-whistle-blowing-Nazi-rejector relationship.

2. Carl and Ellie’s love story from Up. There’s very little dialogue in this scene. There doesn’t need to be.

3. A kiss in the rain from The Notebook. All that time apart. All that love. The reconnection. Ryan Gosling.

4. The boombox scene in Say Anything. Show me a girl in 1989 who didn’t want a guy standing outside her window blaring Peter Gabriel and I’ll show you a girl who never saw this movie.

5. I can’t find video of this scene from A Beautiful Mind, but this whole movie wins because a love story that endures mental illness is about as romantic as you can get.

Nash: “You once said that God must be a painter because he gave us so many colors.”
Alicia: “I didn’t think you were listening…”
Nash: “I was listening.”

A man that listens? Swoon.

6. The last few minutes of Good Will Hunting is a happy ending like no other and oh-so-dreamy. It also doesn’t show either member of the couple on whom the romantic story-line is based. This is me, throwing you a romantic curve-ball.

7. I know these are kids, but they grow up and get married. They love each other their WHOLE LIVES, you guys! This scene from Braveheart steals my heart.

8. A love you have to let go. Ouch, Castaway. Just ouch. Also, more rain. I have a thing for water.

9. I’m not a huge Tim Burton fan, but the epic beauty and storytelling in Big Fish is delightful. It’s one of my favorite films and this sweeping romantic gesture and field of daffodils makes me weepy.

10. This scene from Far and Away is the reason I was crushed when Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman got divorced.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope you find the time to curl up and watch a love story.

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