20 Interesting Stories About Me

 

1. I grew up in northern Minnesota in a family of seven kids. Five boys and two girls. I was the middle child (my sister was the oldest). Our mom saved us more times than we can count. We are all only still here by the grace of God and Mom’s ability to step in at the last second.
    

2. I fantasized about being part of the Partridge Family when I grew up. I learned to play the guitar, drums, triangle, and tambourine just in case they might ever need me. Sigh. They never did. Actually, one of my BFF’s and I wrote a song and sent it to both David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman. We were sure one of them would love it. I don’t have to tell you how that ended.
    

3. One of our neighbor’s had a farm. The best skating pond was on the other side of his bullpen. We would take turns distracting the bulls while people ran across the pen and dove under the fence. There were some close calls.
    

4. I had a huge missed opportunity when I was 9 years old. Seven friends and I wrote to Mr. Toot, the afterschool TV show that aired out of Duluth. We offered to square dance on his show. He called to make the arrangements, but our parents were too worried we would embarrass ourselves—and them—so they said no. We were all devastated. I was a good square dancer back then, too.
    

5. The worst hairstyle I ever had was a blond afro. (It wasn't supposed to look like that.) My mom loved to give perms to the older neighbor ladies, so she tried one out on me. It was bad. I gave myself a pixie cut within a week. She didn’t tell me she could reverse the perm until after I cut my hair to within an inch of my scalp.
    

6. One game we played as kids was called The Fork Game. Both players sit on the floor with a puddle of water between them. One has a fork and the other has a dishrag. The dishrag holder tries to clean up the puddle without getting stabbed with the fork. I obviously was not good at it; I still have scars.
    

7. My most embarrassing moment happened when I was 12. My class went on a field trip to the Shrine Circus. I was screaming for the clowns to release a balloon (it went to the loudest side) when some reporter took my picture. He wrote down my name and hometown and told me to check the newspaper the following day. Sure enough, I made the front page of the Duluth News Tribune. However, my photo was placed next to one of a tiger tamer—with the headline: McGregor girl frightened by tigers. (Evidently, my screaming looked like fear.) I never lived that down. My 89-year-old mother showed me the picture just the other day—and laughed about it. 
    

8. My two best friends, Lindy and Cindy, and I were huge school skippers. We spent a lot of time in bigger towns under the guise of selling yearbook ads—when really, we were shopping for prom dresses and going out for lunch. My boyfriend’s (now husband) dad was the high school principal. It made for a lot of good stories—after we got married.
    

9. My husband and I used to sing at weddings. Then one day, it was brought to our attention that all the weddings we have ever sung at have ended in divorce. So, if you ask us to sing, we will tell you to find someone else—unless you don’t really like your mate.
    

10. The thing that drives me the craziest about men is their ability to hear but not listen. My husband, Mitch, is the poster child for that disability. To be fair, he did lose the hearing in one ear...eating pizza!
     

11. I used to be a morning person. Then I retired and became a night person. Now, I have about twenty-five minutes in the middle of the day where I am on fire. But that’s about it.
     

12. According to the True Colors Personality profile, I am Orange and Mitch is Gold. That means, he is a planner and I am spontaneous. Perfect example: when we travel, he has everything planned out and in a folder; I don’t usually even ask where we’re going until I get on the plane.
     

13. Okay, true confessions time. I taught school for 36 years and won many awards. However, I never planned to become a teacher. It was the last thing I wanted to be. When it came time to declare a major, I didn’t know what to choose, so I wrote Teacher—because Mitch told me it was an easy gig. He is a liar! He should know. He was a principal for 30 years.
     

14. I am a toilet paper over-the-top girl. Don’t worry, if I come to your house and it’s the other way, I’ll fix it for you.
     

15. Mitch watched me brush my teeth one day and said, “You just brush willie-nillie, don’t you? So now you know. Yes, I am a willie-nillie tooth brusher! He, of course, is a pattern guy.
     

16. I am not a tea or coffee drinker, and I rarely drink a soda. I like water and wine. I don’t drink wine while I write, though—because, yeah, that makes for some pretty wild stories.
     

17. I live on the edge of change. (We have built six houses and a cabin.) I don’t do boring.
     

18. My love language is receiving gifts. However, more than receiving, I like giving gifts—the perfect gift. Last year for my husband’s 60th birthday, I gave him a series of Decade Boxes...one for each decade of his life. Each was filled with items from that decade that had significant meaning. I also wrote him an 800-page book filled with information and stories about his life, our life together, our kids, etc. More importantly, it comtained hundreds upon hundreds of stories and messages from his friends, family, and colleagues over the past 60 years—all the way back to Kindergarten.
     

19. I am a minimalist. I don’t like stuff, and I especially don’t like stuff that isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Just saying.
     

20. Besides my husband, I have two amazing adult children, Brandon and Taylor, and a grand dog, Baxter, and a grand cat, Guinevere. My kids still come home frequently to see what my pots and pans have to offer. We also have the most adorable 3-pound Parti-Yorkie I have ever seen. Her name is Harper.