SIX DECADES

Decade 1
0 to 10 years old
1957-1967

Such a GREAT time to be a kid. I enjoyed my childhood very much. Growing up on Clark Avenue in South Milwaukee only a few blocks from Lake Michigan was fun. It was a time when every adult watched out for every child and you were best friends (life-long friends) with your neighbors. I am the youngest of 4 siblings. I love my place in my family. I never wanted to be the oldest or in the middle. My dad worked hard to provide for us and mom was always there to watch over us. We didn't have a lot but I always felt rich.

Decade 2
11-20 years old
1967-1977

This decade really needs to be broken into thirds. The first third continued to be a wonderful time to grow up. However, teen years seemed to change everything. The Vietnam war ended and it seemed our country was in such turmoil. The nightly news always showed unrest of some kind. If you've ever seen "That 70's Show" it will pretty much give you a picture of life growing up in the 70's in Wisconsin. The years from 16-18 were not my best. But, meeting my husband at the end of this decade changed everything.

Decade 3
21-30 years old
1977-1987

I'm an ADULT! Married, our first apartment, the births of our two children. Sleepless nights, trips to the doctor, shots, potty training, Gary becoming a stay-at-home dad and me working full-time. It seems this decade was full of many firsts. Including our first home. Life was busy but good. I loved being a wife and mom. I loved that family was close and we had lots of visits to see grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. My parents had a lake home and so many memories were created there. Yes, this was a good decade.

Decade 4
31-40
1987-1997

This turns out to be the most significant decade of my life. My career takes off. Our kids begin those pre-teen to teen years. We move to Genessee Depot and love living in a rural community. But, with all this happiness things from my past often made me feel like gloom and doom were just around the corner. Mistakes I made decades ago, during those 3 short years from 16 to 18, never seemed that far away. Through the wedding ceremony of a good friend we discover a church where I got in a Bible study that changed my life forever. I sat on a picnic table, in Whitnall Park, doing my homework for the week. For the first time, despite being raised in the church, I understood on a very personal level, what Jesus Christ did when He came to earth and died for my sin. For the first time in my life, I read the Bible because I wanted to read it. I began to understand that the Bible is more than a book, that it is more than historical information and compelling stories. I understood for the first time ever that the Bible is a love letter from heaven written by men who were inspired by God Himself! At the age of 35, at that picnic table in the park, I prayed and asked God to forgive my sins and accepted His free gift of mercy and grace. My life has never been the same. I became a slave to God and found full and complete freedom. Those words that I never understood, "born again", I now fully knew. Wow! What a decade to remember.

Decade 5
41-50
1997-2007

Again, everything changes. Kids grow up, finish high school, finish college, get married, move away. The company I work for downsizes and we end taking a transfer with them that puts us in the Land of Oz - Kansas! Kansas is where my kids meet their spouses (while attending KU) and our family size doubles in this decade (we grow from 2 to 4 kids). Gary and I find a church home where we grow, learn and connect. Kansas becomes my home and I find that while I was born and raised in Wisconsin, I still think of Kansas as home. It is during this decade that I left my "career" and went into full-time ministry working in a crisis pregnancy center. The events that took us to this decision are amazing and deserve their own blog post, or maybe even a book some day. And I turned 50! Half a century old! My favorite birthday/year yet.

Decade 6
51-60
2007-2017

This is my favorite decade to date. I love being in my fifties (won't hit the big 60 until December). I think this is the first decade that I felt 100% like an adult. I don't know why. I guess it is a confidence thing. Sometimes in earlier decades I felt like I was "acting" like an adult, playing a role forced on me by time and age. A conversation I over hear in a grocery store will once again create major change for us. God begins to put a desire in my heart to have my parents close by. Florida is just too far away for me. I spend 3 years trying to gently convince my mom to move to Kansas. When that didn't work we moved to Florida. Our first stop is Lakeland, two hours away from my parents. During that time Gary's mom is diagnosed with cancer and we move her to a nursing home near us. I am not a "care giver" by nature. Gary is. I am not one who waits on others very well. Gary is. But the 6+ months we have Ginny are my most cherished memories. Stopping to see her on my way to work, visits over lunch, and spending the evening with her, allowed me to grow in areas I never expected I would in my lifetime. It was NEVER a burden. I was honored to have had the opportunity and would do it again in a heartbeat. She loved Dunkin' Donut coffee so I'd bring her one each morning. She loved Taco Bell Supremes and Gary or I would pick one up for her to eat for dinner (she hated the food at the nursing home, but never complained about it). I loved watching her sleep, I loved "discussing" (some would say arguing) about her care with the staff at the nursing home, it was a special time in my life. Her passing was a blessing (she was no longer bed ridden) and also left a big hole in our lives. We do miss her but we know she loved Jesus and we will see her again.

We now live in Ocala just a few miles from my parents home. They are in their mid-80s. We go out to eat with them, watch football together, hunker down for hurricanes together, take small trips, shop, golf, laugh, and just do whatever. These are the times of my life and I don't want to miss a thing.

It is this decade that brought us the best life gifts ever! FOUR GRANDCHILDREN! I'm sure that is part of why this is my favorite decade and perhaps being a grandparent contributes to feeling like an adult.

I don't know what the future holds. I'm guessing it will be more of the past. CHANGE! As I reflected back on my life so far (I'm halfway through it if I live to be 120), I was struck by how the memories I hold on to are the good ones. Sure we had bumps in the road, trials, difficulties, etc. And, when we were in those it felt like they would never end. But they always did and those memories become insignificant compared to the good ones. So, go make some memories and may they be incredibly adventurous!