Christine Columbus

I am the 6th of 7 children. At 4 years old, I knew I wanted to be a grandma first and then if there was time left in my life I'd be a mom. I came to this conclusion only after many days of careful observations. My Grandma was having a lot more fun than my mom. Being a mom meant being the first one up and the last one to bed and there was always something that need to be done. It was all work and no play. Whereas my Grandma had time, she could wear plaid house dresses without a bra, slurp hot coffee from a saucer, she didn't have to wear make-up, color or curl her hair. On Sunday's she pulled a wig off a styrofoam head and pulled it down to her ears like a stocking cap. She was my idle. At 5 or 6, I discovered reality. There was no Santa Claus, you didn't get want you wanted just from being good. If you wanted something you had to work for it and you couldn't retire until you're old. For 27 years I went to work thinking May 1, 2024 I am out the door. I was working for retiring and it sucked so I quit and after another dozen years of work and school, I was able to retire in June 2015.