OT: What are your Top 5 life moments?

Man, I'm not married, and I don't have kids so here it goes:

1. The day I bought my dog. He is my best friend and I couldn't ask for anything better.

2. Graduating college and landing a job right after.

3. Paying off all loans, and being debt free by 26 (I have a car loan now to go along with other monthly expenses). Haven't bought a house though...

4. Getting my hole in one, lapeer country club, number 4, sand wedge.

5. Various Michigan games. Alamo Bowl with my dad who was declared cancer free, going to Touchdown Manningham with my mom and being in that endzone. Any of my student ticket memories.

1.My 1st sons birth
2.My 2nd sons birth, which is also my families heritage day.
3.Day I married my wife
4.My first varsity home run was a walk off in regionals against west Bloomfield I was a sophomore.
5.The day my nephew was born we share the same birthday.

1) Executing O Sang-hon. With a flamethrower.

2) Being named Chairman and First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

3) Marrying my sweetheart, Sol-ju (she took a little convincing, if you know what I mean!)

4) This one is a tie: a) declaring War on the U.S. and b) successfully testing Korea's first H-bomb.

5) Moving home from Switzerland. I'll always love you, sweet mountains.

 

1. The birth of my first son

2. The birth of my second son

3. The birth of my twin daughters

4. Getting married

5. Graduating college

-Having the courage to tell my wife I was in love with her (we were "just friends" at the time).
-When each of my children was born.
-Completing my PhD.
-Becoming a portfolio manager.
-Getting fired for not compromising my integrity by lying to a client to keep an account, and landing a better job that paid twice as much 5 weeks later.

1a. Wedding day.  I still look back and marvel at how I convinced my wife to marry me.

1b.  Birth of my son.  Literally gone to hundred of (other peoples') deliveries but never been remotely scared so much as when the OBs rushed down the hall for a C-section and I had to wait outside while they got the anesthesia going pronto.

3.  My little bro's wedding, it was like seeing him all grow'd up.

4.  Getting into med school on my second attempt. Found out between classes in the parking lot by Markley. Called my parents, my grandma, and then cried for a few minutes.

5.  My first day of class at Michigan. Nobody in my fam had graduated from college, and there I was in the chem building taking Classic Civ. That was a good day right there. 

1.  Buying my house.  I never lived in an apartment after school and went straight from my parents' house to buying my own house.  Putting down 20% required a lot of saving, and there were stressful times living with the parents while I was saving up and looking for houses.  Dad kicked me out for a couple weeks because we had a disagreement over the cable.  I just had to get out and it felt so good to have my own house.

2.  U-M graduation, master's in ChemE.  I was so tired of school and so glad to be done.  Didn't have a job lined up and didn't care; I was just drained from the workload and the stress

3.  Getting my job.  Only a few months after graduation, so I didn't have to wait too long.  Still working the same job 15 years later.  I'm definitely a lifer here.

4.  U-M acceptance.  I didn't even really apply anywhere else (just MSU), so if I didn't get in, I would have been crushed.

5.  Rose Bowl 1998.  Great trip to California and a great year to be a football fan.

Getting a Nintendo at christmas (we didn't have money, I thought it was magical,) performing in a show and bringing down the house, first kiss from katie, telling my dad to fuck off, watching my mom hold my newborn nephew (her first grandchild)

List might change in time.

But one of them is three weeks ago when my wife informed me I was gonna be a daddy. Consider yourselves now "in the know."

Wedding.

Kids' births.

First day as a car designer with clay model of Ford GT in front of my desk.

Black tie event with my fiancé for the show truck I designed.

Visiting Petra in Jordan.

1). Birth of daughter 2). Birth of son 3). Married 4). Graduating college 5). My walk-off HR in Varsity Baseball

#1) Meeting the Future Mrs. Had the girl I previously dated not dumped me about 3 weeks prior, I never would've met the love of my life.

#2) Living/working in China after graduation. One of the greatest, and also most humbling experiences of my life. You realize how much you take basic conversation for granted when you're riding the subway home and you can't understand one word anyone around you is saying.

#3) Not a singular moment, but bringing our second dog home, and moving in with my fiancé and her dog. Grew up with dogs my whole life, but the dogs I had when I was younger always felt like my Mom's dogs. We were all playing for a distant second. The two dogs we have now are two of the best things that ever happened to us. One of the best parts of my day is coming home, and seeing them sit there with their tails wagging waiting for me to come give them a belly rub.

#4) My Mom having her cancer successfully removed, getting through chemo, and being cancer-free for going on seven years.

#5) National Title game vs. Louisville. Yeah we lost, but being there was something I'll never forget.

And #6) because why not: UTL I. Biggest "what the hell just happened" moment I've ever witnessed first-hand in sports. The entire stadium was pure bedlam.

Receiving Mickey Mouse Talking Phone as a birthday present when I was a kid.

Getting into U of M. It was the only place I applied.

Watching the end of the '98 Rose Bowl.

Finding out my husband passed the bar.

Realizing I was in labor with kid #1 and about to be a mom officially.

Learning kid #2 was a boy.

Watching my dad walk for the first time a year after a devastating stroke.

Yea yea, God wife and kids. But besides those, cuz that's what everyone else typed, it goes like this, in no particular order:

1. The day I got my doctoral thesis signed off on by my thesis committee. The feeling of "no more school" after 23 years of school (K-12, undergrad then grad) was amazing. I was officially Dr. Jaws with a PhD from UC Berkeley from that point on.

2. Oktoberfest, Munich, Germany.

3. Playing the Russian Jr National team in a tournament Championship game. We lost but I played lights out and allowed only 5 goals on 73 shots. We were the only team to hold them to less than 8 goals and the only team to score on them all tournament. They won 5-2 (I assisted on one goal on a bad line shift). I still have a stick that one of the Russian kids gave me after the goalie on his team won "goalie of the tournament." He said I was a better goalie than the kid on his team.

4. Traveling through Europe/UK

5. Every family reunion. About 40 of us (4 generations) get together every year.

1. Cats 1-10 2. Cats 11-27 3. Cat 34 4. Cats 28-33 5. Day I bought 57 mice.

1.  Birth of children

2.  Marry wife

3.  Graduate college

4.   ???

5.  Profit.

Really interesting to get a peak into my fellow mgobloggers lives. Good topic.

1. Even though he came 9 weeks early, the day my son was born (and every day since). I've aged about 10 years in the last 8 months.

2. Marrying the girl that asked me to be dance partners my freshman year at Central.

3. Watching my brother on Broadway, and later seeing his name on the big screen.

4. The babies I've delivered, and lives I've hopefully "saved" working on the boo boo bus.

5. UTL 1. Seven rows up in the Roundtree catch corner. Sitting just a few people away from the Notre Dame section added to the experience.

1. Beating MSU this year. 2. Beating OSU this year. We shouldn't have the rest of the top 5 until those two things happen.

1. Birth 2. Losing my virginity 3. MICHIGAN 4. Marrying my incredible wife 5. TBD

Just thought I'd drop in to say this is a terrible thread.  Carry on.

1.  calling my 69-year old dad and telling him that there's a new guy in the world with his name.  (My mother had just died and it was a pretty emotional time)

1.  My daughter being born.  Despite a whole bunch of lupus complications that we hadn't expected due to our vast experience with item #1.  All births are miracles.  Hers was even more so.  

2.  Marrying the MGoBride.  I know some people might call me an asshole (this is MGoBlog!) for subordinating this, but until you've seen someone entirely dependent upon you look into your eyes--who has your DNA in theirs, and they call you daddy--it won't make sense.  Anyway, were that not the case, this would be #1.  

BTW I think the MGoBride would probably say the same about her #1 and #2.  We have the same values, and she has been a rock.  

3. Going to Michigan.  I had an awful childhood.  I've never gone into it here, but it was pretty shitty.  My life changed so much for the better in Ann Arbor--to the point where I refer to it as my hometown.  I would not be anywhere close to where I'm at in life were it not for UM.  

4.  Moving to Colorado.  Great place to raise points #1 and um, #1. 

 

 

1. Marrying my wife 2. Earning my graduate degree and seeing how proud it made my grandparents 3. Landing my first job out of school. It made a dream come true 4. Watching the 98 Rose Bowl 5. Graduating undergrad

In no particular order, joining the Army straight out of high school, I needed to get away from my parents and all the heroine they were doing. Without the Army I wouldn't be here today.

Birth of my son. The one thing I've wanted more Than anything in this world was to be a dad.

Birth of my daughters. Easing three kids is a rewarding and painful experience. And I wouldn't change a thing.

Getting out of the Army after 14 years and graduating from EMU. I'm the first person in my family to finish a 4 year university.

Marrying my wife, without her kids and college would never have happened she has pushed me to be better and I can never repay her.

My 5:

1. Marrying my wife

 

 

2. Birth of Children

 

 

3. High School Basketball team winning State

 

 

4. Graduating College

 

 

5. Watching Verlander No-hitter in person

Most of mine are moments that repeat themselves.

1.  My kids.  Every moment even the bad ones.

2.  Wife--realizing I was in love and was going to marry her.

3.  Having a religious experience (Was one with the universe/met god.  Shit you not.)

4.  Lots of great moments with some great women.  (Not just sex.)

5.  Floating on a lake in Michigan and other lesser states.

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6.  Feeling the flow in sports.  Playing and watching.

7.  Shipping a quality product.

First tarpon hooked on a fly rod.

The Replacements Riot Fest/Denver Show. I'd seen them a number of times in the bad ol' days, from Tim to Tom Petty to the final tour, and Paul a bunch, but seeing Paul and Tommy playing together again after so many years, and being there for it, was weighty. I was homelss from a natural disaster, had only a few days before been airlifted by the Natl Guard (with ticket among all worldly possesions in backpack) and still made the show. The return to Denver at the Filmore during the proper tour was good too. Getting two mats shows here was just great random luck.

First date with wife/birth of daughter.

Fishing on Alaska's North Slope all night alone.

Any of 100s of winter days of bird hunting on the High Plains with my dogs.

I'm not real big on crowds so anything with a crowd does not make the list. 1. Realizing the sacrifices my parents made to give us a decent childhood. We had no money, almost zero. I wore clothes with holes in them and shoes that a dog wouldn't chew. But we always had food, gifts for our birthdays and they spent time with us. I will not measure up to the standard they set. 2. When my girlfriend said she would marry me. 3. When I got the present I really wanted when I was 10 years old. 4. When I realized that I was financially stable. 5. When I realized I didn't care that I was financially stable.

Oh it's on now, SkyNet.

I have few that stand out so far. I will go in no order: Graduating from high school. Michigan basketball's run to the championship a few years back. UTL 1. Three family vacations in Wisconsin. Week vacation in Florida with best friend and his family.

1) Woodson TD return against OSU.

2.) Johnny Wrangler to Anthony Carter to pull out the '79 Indiana game.

3.) Howards 4th down TD catch to beat Notre Dame in '91

4.) Hay's 4th down TD to beat VA.

5.) Bobby Thompson 4th down sack of Art to help beat OSU in the horseshoe.

Aside from the births of my children (which I still remember in detail, 13 and 16 years later respectively) and meeting my husband, I would say the top five moments are:

 

1. Making the decision to leave my job in advertising for a job as a pastry chef. That totally changed my outlook on whether your life needs to be a straight upward line. You can meander. 

2. Watching my 13 year old daughter get onstage and talk about her social anxiety, during which she forgot her lines and then handled it with incredible poise. A moment of pride and admiration. 

3. When my son won the 2016 Cy Young Award on his high school team. He started playing baseball when he was 5, and I've never seen anyone beat himself up more when he didn't play perfectly. He struggled with confidence, wanted to quit a few times through the years, and had meltdowns on the mound in his earlier years. So to see the hard work and mental growth pay off, even in a small way, was gratifying. 

4. When we beat OSU in 2012. Not because it was a great win over a great team, but because I was at the game with my son, and it's the most fun we've had together. 

5. Buying my first place when I was 27. It was the moment I realized I was truly self-sufficient.