Boomer and I met at the University of Massachusetts where I was an Animal Science Major and he was studying to be a Civil Engineer. We lived in the same dorm but on different floors. I used to work security (sounds tougher than it was...you just sat at a little desk and checked peoples' keys as they came in to make sure they lived there) and I would see him come by sometimes and we had some mutual friends.
At the beginning of senior year we both ended up at the same Happy Hour Party at a friend's house. Boomer was involved in a wrestling match out in the backyard and someone made a comment about throwing some water on them to break it up. Since I had a full glass of beer and was always trying to be helpful....I threw it on them! It didn't go over well! So I disappeared into the crowd and promptly forgot about all these guys who wanted to kill me.
Later on as I was enjoying myself I suddenly got wrestled to the ground....by Boomer. He held me there while his friend poured a beer all over my face. But curiously I didn't even notice as Boomer and I had started gazing into each other's eyes and fell in love!! I wanted to reach up and start kissing him but luckily managed to control myself as we were already making quite a spectacle of ourselves as it was. But in the days and weeks to come...we sought each other out (both broke up with our current b/g friends) and by June we were married. That was over 18 years ago!
Most of the time we get along great but we've been through some rough times, most notably our first daughter's death. The majority of bereaved parents divorce. Most people think something like that would bring you closer together but it is like two drowning people...if you hang onto each other you will both go down. You need to strike out for the shore on your own and if you both make it, then you will be closer because you know where the other has been. It's not an easy road.
We have 3 other great kids now who keep us extremely busy!! They are all very involved in sports...mostly basketball and soccer. Since Boomer and I have both been coaches on some of their teams it has become a family affair. Most weekends are spent going from one game to another. We go crazy sometimes with all the running around but we actually love it. Basketball season is our favorite!
Boomer works for a road construction company and is in charge of bidding on the bridge jobs. I was a stay-at-home mom when the kids were little but went back to work a few years ago when Colleen started first grade. I work part time as a veterinary assisant. I love it but find being a working mom....even part-time...is hectic! And plus I keep finding more reject pets that I want to bring home. That year I also took an EMT course and became an Emergency Medical Technician and for the past few years I've worked for my local fire depton an on-call basis. I really enjoy it though I do find it tough to crawl out of a warm bed in the middle of a winter night to go on a call. You would think people would be considerate enough to plan their accidents and heartattacks at a convenient time! Just kidding! One poor old lady tried to do just that. She fell in her bathroom and hurt her head and neck. She sat up all night in pain and called us in the morning. Her neck was broken in 2 places! So PLEASE... if it happens to you... CALL RIGHT AWAY! We really don't mind coming at any time of day or night and it is a very rewarding feeling to be able to help someone.
For fun we all really like to ski....all of the kids ski and they are already becoming better than me! (Which isn't too hard to do!) We are lucky to live 15-20 minutes away from a ski mountain. It's on the small side but last year we all bought season passes (because in the past with all the sports we had trouble getting away to NH or Vt for a weekend)and it was great to just pop on over and go skiing whenever we wanted if only for a few hours. I just got a new pair of the shaped skis and I love them! I let each of the kids take a turn skipping school and have a "Mom and Me" day. I love having one on one time with them. Also Boomer and I got to go a few times alone this year and we had a blast. We like to spend time alone together away from the kids sometimes. We think it's important and we always seem to get along great. I think we are even more in love now than when we first got married. I'm so lucky I found him.
We also love to golf. Boomer has been golfing for a while now and I used to think it sounded very boring but I finally gave in and tried it and I actually liked it! It might have helped that one of the first places we went was only a nine hole course and was on the top of a mountain with a nice outdoor bar where you could stop and have a few drinks before the next round! Derek and Conor both love to golf and this past year Colleen also started so it's another thing we can do as a family.
Boomer and I both recently started skydiving. In the summer of 1999 I did a tandem jump and got hooked. I signed up to start an IAF course but broke my tailbone on the next jump. It slowed me down but didn't stop me. I did another tandem in the fall of 1999 and then this past spring (2000) Boomer and I both signed up for AFF (Accelerated Free Fall). Because of a rotten summer weatherwise it took us to the end of August to finish all the levels and graduate. You can follow the links on the main page if you want to know more about our adventures. We both love it, though I think I'm more obsessed by it than him. Our poor children have become orphans on Sundays. They thinks it's cool we skydive though and both Derek and Colleen can't wait to be old enough to try it.
We also love to hike and really enjoy the beach!! Well mostly I love the beach. I really love the ocean and it is the main thing I miss living out where we do now. Martha's Vineyard is our favorite summer vacation but we haven't been there in quite a few years. Boomer and I love to travel and try to get away to some place warm every few years. We've gone on a few cruises and just had the best time. ( cruise ) We are thinking about a trip to Cancun next. Our biggest problem is finding someone to watch our kids while we go so if anyone is interested.... lol In between couple trips we try to do family vacations. In the spring of 1999 we did the Florida/Disney/Universal/Busch Gardens/run yourself into the ground trip and really had a wonderful time though we all came back exhausted. ( Family trip )
Well I could go on and on here but I don't want to bore you to death! I'm really lucky to have such a fabulous family. I love them all like crazy. That's not to say we are perfect... far from it. We have lots of problems (including surviving our first years as parents of a teen!) but I think we know what's important in life and we keep working at it. Life is what YOU make of it!
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