Taking Stock

Sometime in high school we were given an assignment called “Taking Stock”. The idea was to write about your life and every sentence had to start with the words “I have…” thus, the Taking Stock title. I have no idea what made me remember this but I decided to do the assignment again because I liked it so much the first time.

I have celebrated 29 birthdays. I have lived in four states in my lifetime. I have talked my way out of a ticket every time I’ve been pulled over. I have the ability to remember song lyrics after hearing the song just once. I have the ability to forget where I left my car keys 5 minutes after setting them down. I have more hats, shoes and tubes of lip gloss than any girl ever needs. I have the same middle name as four of my cousins. I have loved baseball for as long as I can remember. I have my mom’s eyes. I have my dad’s nose. I have fallen asleep under the Eiffel Tower after a picnic of wine and cheese. I have been kissed while standing outside in a blinding snowstorm. I have a fear of heights. I have a beauty mark next to my right eye that I love. I have enjoyed a sunrise in New Orleans with a total stranger. I have broken my left arm in three places – at one time. I have wanted to be an astronaut, a Solid Gold dancer and a television journalist. I have a scar on my leg but no memory of what it’s from. I have sometimes believed the bad things people have said about me. I have sometimes dismissed the kind things people have said about me. I have been so drunk that I took my shirt off in the middle of the street because I was hot. I have the desire to have a family…someday. I have made the world’s best baked ziti. I have made the world’s worst pancakes. I have never had a relationship that lasted longer than 2 years. I have always wanted to visit Greece, Ireland and Australia. I have caught people in lies but never confronted them. I have also never been able to forget those lies. I have broken into a house and stolen something that was stolen from me. I have watched Bull Durham, Sixteen Candles and Office Space one million times…each. I have wanted a moment to never end. I have given seven wedding toasts. I have been toasted at most of them. I have been skiing since I was 5 years old. I have never been on a sailboat. I have been annoyed by bad drivers, long meetings and passive aggressive behavior. I have fallen asleep in a hammock on the beach in the Bahamas. I have cried at commercials. I have prayed for a sick friend to get well. I have found a job I truly love. I have taken a picture while leaning out of a car on the Golden Gate bridge. I have one secret that no one in the world knows. I have watched the “Sound of Music” and made Christmas cookies with my sisters every year for 13 years. I have spoken when it would have been better to be silent. I have never been able to understand why people cheat. I have no idea why I hate touching terra cotta, but I do. I have spent an entire day walking the Gaudi park in Barcelona. I have been skinny dipping. I have been stung by a wasp in the corner of my eye. I have never had chicken pox. I have visited San Francisco at least 20 times. I have built a life for myself that I can be proud of. I have 218 numbers programmed in my cell phone. I have used a diamond hoop earring as a wedding band to deflect a guy I didn’t want to talk to at a bar. I have been stunned that he fell for it. I have learned that you can't change anyone but yourself. I have always believed in signs. I have enjoyed the sight of a harvest moon, the smell of banana bread and the sound of crickets. I have been residing in the blue skies of my youth.