sunday social: all about the special people in my life

1. Tell us about the family you grew up in: parents, siblings, grandparents.

I am an only child and was a later-in-life baby for my parents; they were 41 and 42 when I was born and had been married for 20 years already.  I think my extended family was pretty ecstatic all around when they found out my parents were finally going to have the child they had wanted for so long, and my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins (who were all old enough to be my aunts and uncles) all treated me like a little princess.  It's really to my parent's credit that I wasn't totally spoiled.  My mom quit her job as a wills and trusts banker to become a stay-at-home mom, while my dad worked as a manager at a local store for most of my childhood.  My parents really nurtured my creativity by playing music all the time, reading to me, and doing art with me.  When I was in kindergarten, my dad became a long distance truck driver, which was a big adjustment for my family because it meant that for the forseeable future we would only see him on the weekends, but he never missed big events like school plays, dance recitals, and science fairs.  I always felt like my parents and I were a team, and I know I was very lucky to grow up in that kind of environment.

2. Tell us about your husband, fiancé, boyfriend, or significant other.

Mr. Q and I were introduced by one of my summer camp co-workers who had been his college roommate.  We both maintain that it was love at first sight; we hit it off immediately and went on a few dates before he asked me to be his girlfriend, and we've been together for eight years now!  One of the things I value the most about Mr. Q is that he came along at a very difficult time in my life; my dad's kidneys had failed and I was being treated for clinical depression.  It was really important to me that Mr. Q get to know my dad, and he wasn't freaked out by that like a lot of guys might have been.  When my dad passed away, Mr. Q and I had been dating for about five months, and he was my rock through that experience - and still is.  I instantly feel calmer and safer when he is around - my sister in law was picking on me at Busch Gardens because I grabbed Mr. Q's arm rather than the safety bar on one of the rides!

3. Tell us about your children. If you don’t have children, talk about your fur children.

By this time next month, I'll have 57 children - my new students!  Mr. Q and I do not have children of our own yet, and my fur baby Scout lives at my mom's house.  You can see that he is very helpful with tasks like grading papers.

4. Tell us about your best friends. How long have you known them? How did you meet?

I've known Breeze since sixth grade.  We've been through everything from her baby sister's birth, high school crushes, struggling through AP classes, her mother's divorce, applying to college, and all the realities of becoming adults.  We have had one fight - when a girl in high school started a rumor that I was talking about Breeze behind her back - and will never mistrust each other again.  I can always count on Breeze to be supportive, honest, and to know me better than I know myself at times.

Philly and I went to college together and were in the same Christian fellowship.  When we met, she was rolling down a staircase wrapped in bubble wrap.  Um, how could I not want to be that person's friend?  She has injected so much fun and spontaneity into my life over the years - we lived within walking distance for my last two years of college and were constantly together.  She is a social worker so I like to call her up with crazy student questions.

Sus and I worked together at the summer camp in college, and bonded over the fact that we share the same birthday and sense of humor!  We call each other Lucy and Ethel and have lots of inside jokes - she really has a gift for seeing the lighter side of any situation.  We also share a love of Harry Potter.  Even though we live on opposite coasts, we're in pretty much constant contact thanks to social media and FaceTime.

Finally, Miss V is my best work friend.  She was my mentor teacher when I was hired and our classrooms are side by side.  In addition to the ridiculous amount of time we spend together at work, we text all evening pretty much every day and hang out on the weekends!  Luckily our husbands get along well and tolerate our codependency.  It's wonderful to have a friend who shares my passion for teaching but also my sarcasm about middle school drama, and V is one of the most generous and thoughtful people I've ever known.

5. Tell us about any other special people in your life.

Let's talk about the amazing family I married into.  I just reached the point where I occasionally call Mr. Q's parents Dad and Mom.  It's kind of weird but at the same time I kind of love it.  They are the most wonderful, nurturing, Christian family, although sometimes I feel like Mr. Q may have grown up in a sitcom.  His sister is 24, leads worship in her church, and is basically just a little firecracker with whom I share a love of pop culture gossip and television.  I'm trying to convince her to become a substitute teacher; I think she'd be fantastic because she has so much energy and enthusiasm.