29 years ago...

I was born!! We celebrated my big day with pumpkin carving, caramel apples, (you can see the recipe at Minneapolcrock.blogspot) and a lovely dinner for gerg and I at the Oceanaire. He had stuffed walleye and I had scallops. It was superb in every way. Big ups to gerg for really showing me a great time.

When I was born, my brothers and sisters were running around in the backyard and whispering about what I would look like when I came home...they made some room for my baby picture on the wall above the piano...a wall bedecked with dozens of family portraits: I laid on my tummy with a crocheted blanket over my head. My brother, Mark, was so cute in his courdery suit! And Margaret's curls were so precious. And Mary looked just like the Gerber baby. Monica was too sweet and looked just like dad's baby picture. Dad wore a dress in his baby picture! How silly! (it was a christening gown, I learned latron) Mom's baby photo was a black and white, but it was colored over. She wore a pink bonnet. Michael was a dapper little boy with chubby cheeks. Matthew was mysterious to me; he died before I was born.

Where would I sleep? Who would share a room with me? (I was the 7th child in a 4 bedroom house.) What instrument would I play? French horn, like mom? Trombone, like dad? Would there be enough room in the family van for me?

I was brought to a white house in Wisconsin with green trim around the windows, a screened-in front porch and a backyard with a playhouse, sandbox, rain barrel, fruit trees, and a garden.

I never had a big wheel. I had a red tricycle that my dad painted purple when it became too rusty. It was a fast trike. I wore red tennis shoes with white rubber toes and white laces. I wore a blue and red striped cardigan sweater. My hair was blonde. My fingers were grubby.

I drove my siblings wild with my sobs each time my mom left us home. We'd eat popcorn and watch non-PBS shows! I learned quickly to stop tattling on them for being naughty. I got to ride along with them when they were teenagers to the Shopko and the grocery store. My dad carried me to bed over his shoulder at night, and I'd ring a chime by the door to let everyone know I was going to bed. Good night!

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