40 Memories for Turning 40
As I approach a major milestone birthday, I have begun to reflect on the past four decades. I decided it would be fun to collect 40 favorite memories of my life thus far - and it was. There are many favorite moments of travel, time spent with friends, new adventures and life-changing events. I recount them, in no particular order, here.
39. Publishing my thesis, 2006. A year after I graduated with my master’s degree, a German publishing house contacted me to see if I’d be interested in having my graduate thesis published. For free. With an ISBN number and everything. So cool. I even got to design the book jacket. You can order it at Amazon – Unemployment: The German Case. A Critical Analysis of Political Discourse.
38. Trail rides. I enjoy horseback riding (with a fair amount of trepidation), and have been able to do so at Tanglewood near Winston-Salem, at Lake Lure and in the Smokey Mountains. So much fun!
37. Singing at St. Giles Cathedral, 2008. During a choir trip to Scotland, I had the unforgettable opportunity to sing in the almost 900-year-old cathedral in Edinburgh. I remember the massive organ and the forever-long reverb in that place. Incredible.
36. Denmark, 2006. I had the chance to conduct a site visit of a UNCG exchange partner in Aarhus, Denmark. It was a solo visit and took a 13-hour train ride one way. I remember not being able to turn the light on in my hotel room (got to slide the key card in a slot by the door), working the phone (they moved me to a different room), getting money from the ATM (hadn’t called my bank) and having to walk everywhere because I had no Kroner, only Euro. Worst trip ever? My colleagues at the school took such good care of me, and after dinner in a restaurant on the canal, we went to an open-air rock concert in the town square, with my colleague holding my hand as she dragged me through the crown so she wouldn’t lose me. The night ended with fireworks. On a random day in June.
35. Marching Band, 1997. During my year of high school exchange, I was able to join the marching band of Eastern Randolph High School as a percussion playing pit crew member. I loved playing the cymbal, wind chimes and triangle at home football games and competitions. Especially the day we won a trophy for best percussion!
34. Prague, 1995. In 10th grade, my grade level took a class trip to Prague and us teenagers had so much fun exploring the old city. Majestic bridges over the Danube, cobble stone, cathedrals and a castle on a hill. What’s not to love! We even stayed in a youth hostel that had been converted from a prison!
33. Soloing at church. While at CUMC in Greensboro, the choir director asked me to solo on two or three different pieces, and while terrifying, it was incredibly meaningful to help lead worship in this way. My favorite was The Shepherds Sing by Bob Chilcott.32. Teaching Jonathan to drive a stick. One afternoon in an empty church parking lot, I convinced my friend to learn how to drive my car. From “what do you mean, feel my way through the gears?” to “how do you put it in park?” to successfully stopping and starting on a hill. Well done!
31. Picking blueberries. We used to do this a lot as kids with our parents: driving into the woods with plastic pails and picking wild blue berries. The trick is not to start eating them, because once you do, you never fill another pail. The last time I did this was in 2011, that time just me in my rubber boots with my dad.
30. Netflix and chill. I’ve known my friend Lisa for many years, but some of my favorite memories with her are of us ordering take-out pizza or Chinese on a Friday night and just watching a movie on Netflix. How I miss those relaxing evenings!
28. England, 1993. My first trip outside of Germany was with my 8th grade English class on a bus trip to Canterbury, England for a homestay experience. This was the first time I was able to practice my English with real life English people! I remember not understanding very much but having a blast all the same.
27. Westminster Chamber Singers. One of the few ensembles I ever had to audition for, and the first where I was expected to sightread without accompaniment. I got in on personality, I think. I loved the (challenging) music I got to perform with this select group, particularly Antognini’s I am the Rose of Sharon.
26. Crashing a reception on an aircraft carrier, 2014. I got the chance to visit San Diego once for a conference. There were several receptions each evening, and a colleague convinced me to try to sneak into one held on a decommissioned aircraft carrier. Well, we were successful. What an incredible piece of equipment!
25. Nags Head, 2013. I once drove to the Outer Banks by myself just to visit and really enjoyed my stay there. I remember watching the sunset with my toes in the sand, hands in the air, wind in my hair and the ocean lapping around my ankles. One with the world.
24. Exploring New Orleans with Erin, 2015. What turned out to be a totally unsuccessful conference was only made better by the wonderful moments I experienced wandering around New Orleans with Erin. We had gumbo, coffee and beignets at Café du Monde, and even a mini hurricane. Yum!
23. Being awarded a major scholarship, 2000. Under false pretenses, Deb and I attended a conference in Orlando, FL, for an honor’s society of which I was a member during my community college years. Only to find out that the reason Deb hauled the VHS-tape camera (this was the year 2000, way before iPhone cameras) was that I would be announced a scholarship recipient for the university to which I had applied. In front of 1,000 or so people no less. They even gave me an Oscar-looking statue and a standing ovation.
22. My swing. We had a simple but long swing in the backyard when I was a child. I remember swinging ever so high on that little swing singing the theme song from the Heidi cartoon at the top of my lungs as a kid.
21. Walking Bur-Mil Park with Kaitlin. I always enjoyed walking the trails at Bur-Mil Park in Greensboro with my former colleague and good friend, Kaitlin. I was so sad once she moved! We had so much fun catching up and laughing!
20. Turning pages. This is so bittersweet. I loved being asked to turn pages for organ pre- and postludes during church Sunday mornings. Always a terrifying affair, when you get it right, it’s exhilarating. When you turn the page too early…not so much.
19. Christmas 1997. This was my first Christmas in the US, and we spent it at Deb’s mother’s house in Virginia Beach. I remember feeling really special because everyone in the family was excited to chat with me and I had a huge pile of presents! I felt like such a part of the family.
18. Lying on the Beach on Iona Island, 2008. During a choir trip to Scotland, my roommate and I broke away from the choir one morning in an attempt to see Fingal’s Cave on Staffa in the Hebrides. Unfortunately, the water was too rough to make the trip, so we got to Iona early (before the choir arrived for a concert that afternoon) and spent it exploring the island. Lying in the grass on the pristine white beach in this “thin place” was a mystical experience.
17. Meeting Natalie, 2018. I had a meeting scheduled with my Ph.D. program director and as I walk toward his office, he’s waiting outside and stretches out his hand to greet me. Out of the corner of my eye I see who I think is Natalie, one of the students in my cohort, pop up in her cube and I exclaim “Natalie!” and make a beeline for here, completely ignoring my PD’s hand (oh no!) and she greets me with big smiles and a hug and we fall into excited chatter. Instant friends!
16. Froomah Sarah, 2014. The role of a lifetime? I don’t know, but I tried to act the hell out of “wife who comes back from the dead” in Fiddler on a Roof. On 20” painters’ stilts, it was the most nerve-wracking role I’ve ever played and it never got comfortable. Curious? Just hit play.
15. Beethoven’s 9th. I have been fortunate to join a symphony chorus on Beethoven’s 9th, Ode to Joy, twice: once in Winston-Salem and once in Greensboro. This German masterpiece is incredible fun to sing. I’d do it again any time! (2020??)
14. “Meeting” my sister’s new husband, 2018. Not being able to be there for my sister’s wedding was really hard, but I enjoyed facetiming her after the ceremony and “meeting” her new husband for the first time. They looked so happy! And of course I started tearing up almost immediately when she called out Ehemann! to get him to come to the phone.
13. New York City, 2011. As much as I hate to fly, I fondly remember visiting my BFF Melinda in NYC and getting to explore the city. Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, sipping Cosmos in Manhattan. And my surprise favorite: the Met, which had a Blaue Reiter exhibit – all the Franz Marc and Vasyli Kandinsky paintings you can stand. Yes, I sat in front of the Yellow Cow and stared at it. Melinda wisely kept walking…
12. Appreciate Heidi Day. I was in the middle of an appointment with my student worker at UNCG when there was a pounding on my office door. I open it and in walk six of my study abroad ambassadors, each with a bouquet of flowers. They hand a 7th to my student worker. It was SUCH a touching moment. #teamHeidi
11. Hosting Thanksgiving. I’ve be fortunate to host the Thanksgiving meal in my own home since 2014. While it’s just for 2-3 guest, I sure do enjoy prepping all the fixin’s and pulling out the fine china once a year. As I always say, Deb cooks the breast, and I cook the rest. Which is not entirely true, but it rhymes! Deb is a wonderful sous chef and I hope to be able to continue this tradition for many years to come.
9. Oberammergau, 2010. Deb and I pilgrimaged to Oberammergau to experience the 5-hour Passion Play that the village residents put on every ten years. The play was magnificent and the village ever so charming. We then stayed two additional nights in a B&B directly adjacent to the theater and were able to relive parts of the play through the various sounds that carried over the meadow to our bedroom window. Unforgettable.
8. Singing Mahler 2, 2015. The Resurrection Symphony, with 15 minutes of choral music in German, is an incredibly moving masterpiece. I was able to join the Eastern Music Festival Chorus, prepared by Dr. Carole Ott. I get to sing this again this week with the VA Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Aufersteh’n!
7. Alaska, 2018. A dream fulfilled. Loved all the wildlife, particularly the first humpback whale Deb and I saw while walking along the beach in a fishing village. “Did you see that?” – “That was a big-ass whale!” And we didn’t even have to pay for an excursion to see him. He just lived there.6. Saffrons. Almost annually while I lived in NC, my BFF from undergrad, Melinda, and I would
convene at Saffron’s Indian Restaurant in Greensboro for dinner. This was typically followed by taking the annual selfie outside the eatery.
5. Working with Jonathan. Sharing an office with Jonathan and tolerating his various antics was too much fun. His favorite? Bursting into song, and then shouting, “Heidi!” (as in, stop singing, Heidi!).
4. Unlocking the door to my first house, 2013. I must have looked at 50ish homes before finally making an offer on one. I loved my home in Kirkwood. Hardwood floors, fire place, lots of windows, great kitchen and after I was done with it a large master closet, beautiful bathroom vanity and cute mailbox to boot.
3. Receiving my Green Card, 2013. This was a much-anticipated day many years in the making, and I still remember the exact moment. I was sitting at the dining table in my apartment in Greensboro, with the day’s mail in my hand. Jonathan sat in the other chair. I hand him what I think is the envelope and said “you want to open this? I think I might know what it is?” and after some back and forth he says “I think you should be the one to open it.” Sure enough. It was my permanent residency card.
2. Meeting my cats, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013. I have had 4 cats as an adult, one of which, Mollie, passed away in 2013. I got all 4 as kitten rescues. I loved them all from the first meow. The three I have now, Foster, Sammie and Theo are my absolute pride and joy. I hope they all live long healthy lives.1. Berlin, late 1989 or early 1990. Walking through the Brandenburg Gate from East to West Berlin, holding on to my dad’s hand for dear life shortly after the Wall was opened. And sitting on top of said Wall, while dad hacked away at it with the hammer and chisel he brought from home for the occasion. I will never forget the atmosphere, and the pure joy emanating from those who sat next to me. Here I am in 2010, 20 years later, relieving that moment.
Comments
Post a Comment