#39 If each decade of your life was represented by a pop song, what would they be?

1970’s They Long to Be (Close to You) by the Carpenters.  I remember my Mom singing this to me when I was a little kid.  “On the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true.”

1980’s Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen The first album I bought at the Ben Franklin in Buffalo was Born in the USA.  Dancing in the dark was my favorite song on the album.

1990’s It’s the End of the World as We Know it (and I feel fine) by R.E.M this song was not written in the 1990’s but I can guarantee that it was and still is my anthem.

2000’s  New Year’s Day by U2.  This song was absolutely not from the 2000’s but this song changed my life.  During the summer of 2001 I was looking for a job and I drove to Waconia to turn in my resume for a social studies opening they had.  When I got to the office they told me that the position had already been filled.  I made it out to my car before I burst into tears.  When I turned on the radio New Year’s Day was playing and the lyric “I will begin again.”  Hit me.  When I heard this I decided that I needed to make a change.  When I got back to Mankato I called the human resources director for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District and got a job teaching in Alaska.

2010’s– Papa Gene’s Blue’s by the Monkees. Any song sung and written by Michael Nesmith is a gem.  I just love the refrain of “I have no more than I did before but now I have all that I need.”  I kind of feel like I may not be ahead, but I am pretty content with what I have.

#40 Describe each person in your family with just one word.

Dad- Wrestling

Mom- Loving

Eric- Cat

Me- Groovy

Shawn- Legend

Heidi- Fantastic

Alyssa- Awesome

Kyle- Viking

#41 What you would run out of the house with if your house caught on fire.

I have such a difficult time letting go of things.  I save almost everything because so many things seem special to me.  For ten years I had a storage locker that was kind of like an albatross around my neck.  One time when I was driving with my mom we passed a storage locker unit that had burned down and I joked that those people were “living the dream.” But it is pretty terrible to think that a fire would be a blessing.  If my house were on fire, I would grab the year round Christmas tree.  It is a small tree so I’d be able to hold on to it, and it is covered with squirrel ornaments.  The top of the tree has a quilted heart that my Grandma Johnson gave me, I would be very sad if that was gone.  So, I would grab the tree.  I’m sure the fire fighters would be very confused by this.