What was a turning point in your life?
- Thread starter vraiblonde
- Start date
Great stories. 
It's always interesting how people get from point A to point B.
It's always interesting how people get from point A to point B.
kwillia
n/a
You are in no way the same person I met 15 years ago.
glhs837
Power with Control
I expected Pax would be another three year tour between year 9 and 12 of a 20 year career. Buddy from a previous duty station who had moved down a year before me set me up on a blind date. That blind date ended up being the first night of what would be a awesome 25 year marriage and an amazing career that I could never have imagined when right after I left active duty and was slinging 2x4s for 84 Lumber for 6.25 an hour. My life took a complete unexpected turn that night....... and it's been an amazing ride.
littlelady
God bless the USA
The day the father of my children left, unexpectedly, without notice. Our children were 3 and 5. He left me for the manager of my Safeway when I lived in Darnestown back in 1992. He had lost his job, and became a ‘secret shopper’ at the Safeway. I can laugh about it now, but it was devastating at the time. Everything happens for a reason. I got the best end of that stick, so to speak. I have been married, now, to the most awesome man, ever, for 20 years. Thank you, x-hub. 
I didn’t want a man within a 100 miles of me for two years. Then, I met current hub who took over, and fixed it all. I am very fortunate, very thankful, and blessed. Thank you, Hub.
I didn’t want a man within a 100 miles of me for two years. Then, I met current hub who took over, and fixed it all. I am very fortunate, very thankful, and blessed. Thank you, Hub.
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lucky_bee
RBF expert
Started college at a school in Maryland where I was offered a little bit of a scholarship as an education major. Here, I met my roommate/future BFF who was from SOMD. Eventually I decided I no longer wanted to be a teacher and transferred back home to Connecticut where I finished my degree in Art (another turning point!). After a couple years with a ####ty boyfriend, a decent job but with VERY little pay, I finally dumped him but I found myself not making enough to live anywhere but with my parents over an hour and a half from my job. At 24 I was not about to move back in with them. So I called my old roommate up and she offered up her guest bedroom to me down here in SOMD in hopes we'd be able to find me a connection on base to work here. She'd also just been thru a break-up and I helped her as much as I could with her daughter. Eventually I did make some connections, made myself a decent career here, finally moved out of her guest bedroom, ha! and she just spoke at my wedding to my husband, who I'd met here in SoMD, this weekend 
her daughter was one of my flower girls.
She happens to be a sometimes poster on here too
As far as my degree turning point, I'd always wanted to be a teacher, but once I started getting into the classrooms, IDK something changed and I realized it wasn't quite what I wanted at the moment. I transferred back home to CT as I had more degree options to play with while I figured it all out. First semester at my new college and I was given the opportunity to take an elective and I chose Drawing 101 for the fun of it. I'd always been a crafty person but my parents discouraged art classes and wanted me to focus on the "Real" ones, the honors track: science, english, history, etc. I loved this Drawing 101 and my professor while I'm not an amazing sketch/drawing artist, I did have artistic talent. She convinced me to join her on a study-abroad program for art that summer in Australia. I did...I loved it. I wanted my major to be Art, but with my practical Dad paying that college bill he said I needed to find something a little more lucrative than "Fine Arts" so I specialized in Graphic Design and Advertising andddd that's still a majority of what I do today!
her daughter was one of my flower girls. She happens to be a sometimes poster on here too
As far as my degree turning point, I'd always wanted to be a teacher, but once I started getting into the classrooms, IDK something changed and I realized it wasn't quite what I wanted at the moment. I transferred back home to CT as I had more degree options to play with while I figured it all out. First semester at my new college and I was given the opportunity to take an elective and I chose Drawing 101 for the fun of it. I'd always been a crafty person but my parents discouraged art classes and wanted me to focus on the "Real" ones, the honors track: science, english, history, etc. I loved this Drawing 101 and my professor while I'm not an amazing sketch/drawing artist, I did have artistic talent. She convinced me to join her on a study-abroad program for art that summer in Australia. I did...I loved it. I wanted my major to be Art, but with my practical Dad paying that college bill he said I needed to find something a little more lucrative than "Fine Arts" so I specialized in Graphic Design and Advertising andddd that's still a majority of what I do today!
She happens to be a sometimes poster on here too
Where's she been, anyway? She needs to come back and help us balance out the crazy.
lucky_bee
RBF expert
She has less patience for all that crazy. A husband, another baby, and a very busy job will do that to ya
Rommey
Well-Known Member
I think buying our house in 1992 was the event that changed things.
I was in the Air Force and got stationed to Andrews in late 1983. Two four-year controlled tours brought me up to 1991 and even though I was no longer protected for an assignment, the *wink wink* agreement was if you wanted to stay, there were ways to make that happen. So instead of staying in base housing for the duration it made sense to buy a house. Of course that meant the PCS computers figured out that I was overdue for an overseas assignment and the *wink wink* agreement was nothing but dust in the wind. We were a year and a half in to a 30-year mortgage and we would have lost our shirts so after the assignment came down in June 1994 for me to go to Spain, we decided I would go unaccompanied and use the 24 months to figure out what to do with the house if I couldn't get an assignment back to Andrews.
Fast forward to June of 1995...I was in Spain/wife and daughters in Maryland. I'm redhead/freckles/fair skin type and I had an existing mole on my back that I pretty much ignored. My wife saw a program (20/20, Dateline, 60 Minutes type of show) that discussed skin cancer. It scared my wife so much she called me in Spain and demanded I go to the hospital to get it checked out. I went and had it checked out and they did a biopsy. I was off work for the week after the biopsy and there was no real way to contact me so the hospital just left messages for me at the squadron. When I finally went to pick up my mail there were about 10 messages on the board for me to call the hospital. I had to pass the hospital going back to the room and I just stopped in. It was at this point I knew something was seriously wrong when they pulled the doctor away from a patient to give me the news that it was melanoma and I was being evacuated to Bethesda the next day. Good news is it was home...bad news it was cancer.
Turns out I had ignored it for so long that the cancer had spread and it took several surgeries to get all the cancer. Several doctors have told me that after they read the pathology report that I not only was lucky that it was caught in time, but they were surprised that even after the surgery i made it past the five year mark.
So I always wondered what would have happened if we didn't buy the house. I still would have gotten the orders to Spain, but it would have been an accompanied tour and my wife would have never seen that show. No telling when I would have been diagnosed with the melanoma, but it's likely had it not been detected, I wouldn't have even made it to the end of the four year tour.
I was in the Air Force and got stationed to Andrews in late 1983. Two four-year controlled tours brought me up to 1991 and even though I was no longer protected for an assignment, the *wink wink* agreement was if you wanted to stay, there were ways to make that happen. So instead of staying in base housing for the duration it made sense to buy a house. Of course that meant the PCS computers figured out that I was overdue for an overseas assignment and the *wink wink* agreement was nothing but dust in the wind. We were a year and a half in to a 30-year mortgage and we would have lost our shirts so after the assignment came down in June 1994 for me to go to Spain, we decided I would go unaccompanied and use the 24 months to figure out what to do with the house if I couldn't get an assignment back to Andrews.
Fast forward to June of 1995...I was in Spain/wife and daughters in Maryland. I'm redhead/freckles/fair skin type and I had an existing mole on my back that I pretty much ignored. My wife saw a program (20/20, Dateline, 60 Minutes type of show) that discussed skin cancer. It scared my wife so much she called me in Spain and demanded I go to the hospital to get it checked out. I went and had it checked out and they did a biopsy. I was off work for the week after the biopsy and there was no real way to contact me so the hospital just left messages for me at the squadron. When I finally went to pick up my mail there were about 10 messages on the board for me to call the hospital. I had to pass the hospital going back to the room and I just stopped in. It was at this point I knew something was seriously wrong when they pulled the doctor away from a patient to give me the news that it was melanoma and I was being evacuated to Bethesda the next day. Good news is it was home...bad news it was cancer.
Turns out I had ignored it for so long that the cancer had spread and it took several surgeries to get all the cancer. Several doctors have told me that after they read the pathology report that I not only was lucky that it was caught in time, but they were surprised that even after the surgery i made it past the five year mark.
So I always wondered what would have happened if we didn't buy the house. I still would have gotten the orders to Spain, but it would have been an accompanied tour and my wife would have never seen that show. No telling when I would have been diagnosed with the melanoma, but it's likely had it not been detected, I wouldn't have even made it to the end of the four year tour.
This_person
Well-Known Member
Grandfather's buddy used to beat the hell out of me at pinochle every time it rained when we were at the lake house in WI. He was a good guy trying to teach me stuff, so I kept trying. Anyway, he told me I should join the Army through ROTC. Talked with my dad about that, and he said the Army kinda sucked - I mean, who wants to carry their house around on their back and camp out all the time when you can have clean sheets and three squares from an actual kitchen in the Navy. So, I applied for Navy ROTC.
Accepted.
Recruiter that did my paperwork called me one night and told me that I could be a nuke RIGHT NOW, get a lot of sign-on bonus and qualification bonus and re-enlistment money.....and, anyway, they changed the college GPA requirement for ROTC to 3.8 instead of 2.8. I was stupid enough to believe him without checking, cancelled my ROTC and enlisted.
The rest is history.
Accepted.
Recruiter that did my paperwork called me one night and told me that I could be a nuke RIGHT NOW, get a lot of sign-on bonus and qualification bonus and re-enlistment money.....and, anyway, they changed the college GPA requirement for ROTC to 3.8 instead of 2.8. I was stupid enough to believe him without checking, cancelled my ROTC and enlisted.
The rest is history.
Having a child with disability was a turning point in my life. Before I had to speak up for him, I was afraid to speak out and speak my mind, stand up for myself and was kind of meek and mild. Just look at me now! 
But seriously, because of him, in my role as his mom, caregiver, and advocate I met with doctors and all kinds of professionals & specialists. I was 1 parent in a group of 6-10 specialists at every single Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting from the time he was 18 months old until he graduated HS (with a diploma) when he was 21. I learned how to best present MY SON to them when they would forget he was a person and not just a list of "goals & objectives" to check off on a sheet of paper.
I've learned a lot because of him. Because of Thing1's experiences, I learned to NOT take no for an answer and not to leave any stone unturned to get what I think he needs, and to go after every "benefit" he is entitled to, or eligible to apply for.
But seriously, because of him, in my role as his mom, caregiver, and advocate I met with doctors and all kinds of professionals & specialists. I was 1 parent in a group of 6-10 specialists at every single Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting from the time he was 18 months old until he graduated HS (with a diploma) when he was 21. I learned how to best present MY SON to them when they would forget he was a person and not just a list of "goals & objectives" to check off on a sheet of paper. I've learned a lot because of him. Because of Thing1's experiences, I learned to NOT take no for an answer and not to leave any stone unturned to get what I think he needs, and to go after every "benefit" he is entitled to, or eligible to apply for.
frequentflier
happy to be living
Growing up, my Dad was self employed and a Navy reservist (retired Master Chief after 36 years). We had six kids and though we were not poor, there was not a lot of extra money. My great aunt paid for braces for two of my five siblings and offered to provide braces for me when I was about 14. Though I had the ugliest teeth around, I declined because I was partying a lot and just couldn't be bothered. I rarely smiled showing my teeth and have very few pictures of my *old* smile.
When I was in my 20's, I had two impacted wisdom teeth and went to a dentist in FL. I told him I had rotten teeth and he said "NO, you have rotten habits". He encouraged me to take better care of my teeth and some day consider getting braces. His words stung but he was right.
As I matured, I had become embarrassed by my teeth and smile. I did not have much self confidence. In my late 20's, I moved to NY and though the insurance I had did not cover orthodontics, I scraped together the money to put braces on my teeth.
Fast forward a few years, I returned to FL to live and was attending a party in Naples. A friend of mine was a hygienist for the dentist that said those words to me years before and I recognized him immediately! I proudly smiled and told him how much I appreciated him being so straight forward and candid so many years before! In a way, his words had changed my life and my attitude about my appearance. Though he was very modest about it, I sincerely hope he knew how what he said to me was pivotal in the changes I made in my life (and habits!)
When I was in my 20's, I had two impacted wisdom teeth and went to a dentist in FL. I told him I had rotten teeth and he said "NO, you have rotten habits". He encouraged me to take better care of my teeth and some day consider getting braces. His words stung but he was right.
As I matured, I had become embarrassed by my teeth and smile. I did not have much self confidence. In my late 20's, I moved to NY and though the insurance I had did not cover orthodontics, I scraped together the money to put braces on my teeth.
Fast forward a few years, I returned to FL to live and was attending a party in Naples. A friend of mine was a hygienist for the dentist that said those words to me years before and I recognized him immediately! I proudly smiled and told him how much I appreciated him being so straight forward and candid so many years before! In a way, his words had changed my life and my attitude about my appearance. Though he was very modest about it, I sincerely hope he knew how what he said to me was pivotal in the changes I made in my life (and habits!)
You annoy the F out of me with most posts you make, but I'm sorry you had to go through that. As a father of three with a wife who has devoted her last 10 years to their upbringing and care, I cannot imagine just rolling out on her and leaving her to handle that herself. She's more than able, I'm sure, but no one deserves to be forced into that situation.
HenryEarlIII
The Earl of Henry
It was a bright and sunny spring day in 1968 when I discovered Boones Farm Apple wine.
hitchicken
Active Member
Some of you write professionally. I'd like to suggest you collect these funny, heart-moving, emotional and fascinating stories and publish them in an ebook. I think the current forum might not be the best venue. Organize them, eliminate the innuendo, sarcasm, worthless add-ins and get final approval from the contributors. You can publish for free. I think you'd find a wide audience.
The changes in Southern Maryland from the late 40s until present have been dramatic. I believe the life-changing stories would be more so if the sampling I've read is any example. This period, these story-tellers will disappear with the passage of time and be gone forever. It should be recorded now.
The changes in Southern Maryland from the late 40s until present have been dramatic. I believe the life-changing stories would be more so if the sampling I've read is any example. This period, these story-tellers will disappear with the passage of time and be gone forever. It should be recorded now.
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