[ 16/365 ] ..... Amanda R.

I remember the day she was born, and wishing I was there to meet her. Her two-year self singing and dancing to Shake Your Booty was the cutest. EVER! She’s become a beautiful young lady. I wish we lived closer.

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[ 15/365 ] ..... Trish, RN

The first person to tell me I was pregnant. After innumerable calls over the years with not-so-great news, she was pretty excited. She was hands-down my favorite nurse, treating me like a friend with the right balance compassion and realism.

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[ 14/165 ] ..... Aunt Carol

From the moment we met I felt like we’d known each other forever. She loves unconditionally, has a wicked sense of humor, and bakes a mean kolache. Tulips are her favorite flower, just like me. I love her to pieces!

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[ 13/365 ] ..... Julie H.

To me she was the NASCAR queen, lover of all, and resident Jew to clue me in on what kind of gift to buy for a Bat Mitzvah. Reconnecting on Facebook reminds me what a fun-loving chick she really is!

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[ 12/365 ] ..... Uncle Max

He gave us silver dollars on our birthday when we were kids. We thought we were rich! He looks so much like my dad, it hurts sometimes to see him. But I’m glad he’s in my life to remind me.

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[ 11/365 ] ..... Renee S.

She’s expecting and has been trying to conceive for years. It just goes to show when you have faith in the One above, miracles can happen. I hope we can become closer friends. I could learn a thing or two.

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[ 10/365 ] ..... Pete K.

An awesome fisherman, bass guitarist, and singer. He wears his heart on his sleeve, and will give you the shirt off his back. He loves my sister like it’s going out of style, and is the best stay-at-home dad ever.

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[ 9/365 ] ..... Kim M.

Freshman year, IU Bloomington. Kim was a sweetie… and a realist. She went frat party hopping with us during Lil’ Sis week, and finally said good night after the 3rd house. She had the right idea. We wanted the beer.

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[ 8/365 ] ..... Barb J.

An older sister of my childhood BFF. She would get annoyed when I knocked on their door a gazillion times. Flash forward: her struggle to conceive and subsequent gorgeous baby helped me through my infertility journey – it was possible!

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[ 7/365 ] ..... Ian H.

He offered to send me to Colorado for a promotion, and I turned him down on the spot. No way was I moving away from family and friends to advance my career. He admired my decisiveness. I admired his tenacity.

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[ 6/365 ] ..... Dr. D

My OB/Gyn and the first to lay hands on my son. He doesn’t have much patience with infertile/high risk patients like me. But his bedside manner in the operating room and hospital is second to none. He loves delivering babies!

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[ 5/365 ] ..... Mr. Walsh

The father of one of my childhood friends, and I remember him as a St. Michael because of one particular day. I was afraid to go in Brigantine Castle, a haunted house, and he held my hand… the whole time.

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[ 4/365 ] ..... Sherry S.

Flaming red hair and a personality to match! In college I envied her independence and confidence, but reaped the benefits in all the good times we had together. Parties, bar hopping, and TP-ing the dean’s house. Those were the days!

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[ 3/365 ] ..... Scott T.

My first real crush. Man, how I swooned over his blonde hair and blue eyes. He was a year older which made his mystique that much greater. I have a picture of him on the playground to preserve the memory!

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[ 2/365 ] ..... Mark R.

October 1987 Stone Park, IL. A required school weekend retreat (TEC 345). Mark was my small group facilitator. I was in it for the fun time and laughs with friends, but God had more in store for me that weekend.



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[ 1/365 ] ..... Heidi J.

We were destined to meet. I sought her out as an expert in Mayan Abdominal Massage, but I received so much more! A therapist for the mind, body & soul. One of many who helped me through the infertility journey.

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40x365

Yes, it’s true. I know you can’t believe it. You think, “She really doesn’t look that old. And for heaven’s sake she doesn’t act that old!” Happy birthday to ME!! I’m 40 years old today. Wow, it really does sound old. I know we’ve been through this before, but I can’t help to say it again. My tiny glimmer of hope is that I keep hearing Oprah say how life really begins at forty. Perhaps now that I am forty I’ll stop watching her.

OK, enough dwelling on the “oldness” of forty. As I’ve mentioned before it’s really not bothering me as much as I thought it would. I am a blessed woman in so many ways. Today I thank God for the life He has given me and for the wonderful adventures I’ll explore moving forward.

Now let’s talk about this 40x365 thing. I saw it on a blog crawl one morning a few months ago and was intrigued by the idea. In honor of my 40th birthday – and really to celebrate how blessed I am – each day over the next year (365 days in case you forgot) I’m going to write about one person who has impacted my life either big or small. Oh, and I have to do it in 40 words. No more, no less. Another rule is I have to remember their name. In other words, the kind old man (albeit a little creepy) who gave my friend Tami and I a personal walking tour of Brugge, Belgium has definitely left a mark on my life footprint but he’s a no-go because I don’t know his name. [BTW, that SO could have turned out ugly and in the news, but he really was just a kind old man. I tell ya, I’m blessed.]

You may be thinking, “I know Amy has lots of family & friends, but can she really know 365 people worthy of a 40 word blog post?” The first 100 were easy peasy. And honestly, the second hundred wasn’t too hard either. Then I had to start asking Jeff for suggestions, and going through my life to find little pockets of people I’d forgotten about. My facebook friend list has helped a lot, but admittedly I have handfuls of FB friends that I couldn’t write five words about, let alone forty. Right now my list is at 329 and I’m hopeful over the next year that I’ll meet 36 interesting people and remember to ask their name.


One last thing – the order is completely random. So don’t get too bent out of shape when your day is 285 and Sr. Theophane was day 42. Honestly, she should be in the top ten but we’ll leave that for another blog post.

We start tomorrow.
40 years 40 words
365 people 365 days