MCFATE DINER

Initially, it was the look of him back on that fall day in 1985.  We remained friends through graduation from high school.  I saw him often when I’d return home from college to visit my family.   I drove vehicles that required quite a bit of maintenance and would frequently see him at the auto parts store where he worked.  He always seemed friendly and had a great sense of humor. Over the years, I also appreciated his tendency to help people, including me, with projects.  As

We were going to sleep and he reminded me of the date: February 29, 1996; the only date that was appropriate for a woman to ask a man to marry her.   I was quiet for a while…debating.  Finally, I decided to ask him.   He didn’t respond, instead he went to sleep.  It was humiliating.  We went to work the next day and when he got home he walked in, somewhat smug, and asked, “Did you ask me to marry you last night?”  My response, “That invitation was only good until midnight.”

We got engaged February 29, 1996.  To be fair, it was technically March 1, 1996.  I wanted to move to the next stage of my life and was frustrated he hadn’t asked me.   I decided to make my wishes known and was tired of waiting.  It was time to either get married or I needed to be set free to find someone who wanted the same things I did. In my family, we grew up being taught the reason for Leap Year was it was the only day it would be appropriate for a woman to ask a man to

Monday, June 21, 1993:  32 years, 6 months, 5 days ago.  He picked me up from my apartment in Gilroy and we drove over Highway 152 to Watsonville to have dinner at Cilantros.  After dinner, we drove over Highway 17 (he let me drive) and stopped at the Winchester Theaters to watch a movie on the huge screen that had only been out 10 days:  Jurassic Park.   I still remember clinging to his arm when the T-Rex was stomping making the water in the glass ripple, not to mention the

We met in high school, senior year.   I was sitting in the bleachers with my BFF on my left and her friend was on her left.  We were waiting for a pep rally for the football game that night.  He opened the gym door, walked in, looked around the bleachers, smiled and started making his way over to us.   I was stupidly excited and told my BFF there is a gorgeous guy coming our way and I hoped he was going to sit by me.   She asked me to point him out, but I couldn’t - it would

Awful. But there needs to be some background regarding my dating before I was twenty… My dating life started great in my teens when I began dating a young man who came from a great family background and treated himself, his family and friends, and me with respect.   I am grateful to have that experience from which to apply as a marker for the following dating experiences.  We broke up after a misunderstanding after he went away to college.  To this day, I reflect on him fondl

I passed the IRS Enrolled Agent exam on my first try after studying for the exam for a full year.  I learned how to manage an accounting business, branched out on my own, and successfully managed my own firm for over 25 years until I retired.  I was never sued nor sanctioned during my career.  I helped many individuals succeed in their own businesses, negotiating many obstacles outside their control.   I helped many families put their kids through college, work and plan to re

MANY jobs!   I started college at Cal Poly, SLO days after high school graduation.  I got my first job within a week after summer quarter began as a barista in the student center coffee shop/ice cream bar.   Best skill I learned from this job was plunking an ice cream scoop into coffee to make the nasty drink palatable!  A bit of caramel was not amiss in this equation.   When fall quarter began, I didn’t have enough money for books and supplies, so I got an additional job wor

This is a bittersweet memory.  I started working when I was twelve years old.  I had my first taxable income at age fourteen.  That year...

Some of their friends thought they would enjoy each other’s company, so they were set up on a blind date.  Three months later, they were...

Luckily, I had three teachers who positively impacted my life:       My 7th and 8th grade math teacher was a retired Air Force Colonel. ...

Man-oh-man, this had me giggling just reading the question…  To be fair, I really wasn’t a rebellious teenager.   That doesn’t mean I...

Ah, boys. I remember my first crush in fourth grade, Morgan. It was a time of such innocence that the biggest thing in the world was when...

Growing up, we always had dinner together.  For the most part, my mom and dad shared the task of cooking dinner until I got old enough...

I was born and raised in central California. My family moved four times, each time to a bigger house. I then moved five times during...

Both of my parents' family tradition was to give names based on relatives. Thankfully, my parents chose to do that with middle names...