The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsBrag it up a bit Loungers - What in your life are you most proud of?
Your Kids?
A project at work?
Your spouse?
your exercise program?
Helping a neighbor? Or an aging parent?
Being involved in civic project?
Saving animals?
your house and grounds?
Election work?
being in a band?
Your car?
More than one thing?
I am truly curious - I think this is quite a collection of humanity we have here who like most humans don't like to talk about themselves. take a few moments and tell us what you are proudest of.
I will chime in a little later with mine.
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)and I volunteer one day a week at a horse shelter. I'm proud of this because horses helped build our country in so many ways, and I love them. I'm helping make their lives better. We get some adopted out to good farms. One horse I worked with for a year is now with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), clearing trails.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)that is something to be proud of!
lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Thank you!
shenmue
(38,506 posts)At the local shelter.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)rurallib
(62,423 posts)just curious - don't say nothing you don't want to. Good kids usually have good parents
rug
(82,333 posts)The middle one is graduating HS next month. the other two are in 9th grade and a freshman in college.
None of them have done anything spectacular but they are good human beings.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)sounds like you have a good group.
rug
(82,333 posts)Response to rurallib (Original post)
rurallib This message was self-deleted by its author.
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)at home after 33 years in Houston's public schools.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)lovemydog
(11,833 posts)Good for you! What ages do you teach?
DamnYankeeInHouston
(1,365 posts)I was scared about having such little ones, but they are now my new favorite age group.
frogmarch
(12,154 posts)my firstborn great-grandchild, of course!
Here are some things Ive accomplished for myself that Im proud of:
In the 1980s I overcame severe agoraphobia and went to work at a paleontological site visited by hundreds of people a day, whom I interacted with easily. In the summer I even gave tours.
Even though I didnt become the novelist of my daydreams, I wrote a handful of short stories, and my collection won an ezines Editors Choice award
Im not artistic in the slightest, but Id always wanted to make a miniature diorama, so I made two.
I took online voice lessons so I could sing along at family gatherings without sounding like Harvey Fierstein, and now I blend in just fine. My speaking voice is better too.
Today I am proud of myself for finally picking up Ty and Abbys thousands of dog toys and vacuuming the living room!
crim son
(27,464 posts)My oldest has a degree in systems engineering and a minor in mathematics, and is quickly making a name for herself at the company she works for down in Boston. Dream job, I didn't know they still existed. My son, a junior in the same program as his sister, just left for San Diego to do his summer internship as a diagnostic engineer for another fantastic company that, so far, has been courting him like a lover. And my youngest, only fourteen, who will no doubt follow the same path, is very enthusiastic about his future. Did I mention that my daughter is also a published scientific author AND a published poet? My boys have promised me I will never want for anything and while I realize that's not part of their life's duty, I appreciate their thoughts. My life as a single mother may be a mess but I've done three things right. Thanks for the opportunity to crow.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)You definitely paved their way.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)rurallib
(62,423 posts)I have achieved that also.
In my case it is 13 years longer than my mother and 5 years longer than my father.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)And if a lot of your friends died young.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,629 posts)And also my having gotten a few choice poems published.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)first for you family and loved ones
Second for civic or workplace
Then on a personal level for some special things that we have done on our own.
I know you have mentioned your kids before.
Have you treated us to one of your poems? I could easily have missed it.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,629 posts)I used to get so much flack from some people that I decided it wasn't worth it. Sorry...
Check my Journal, if you want to. If I have posted any, it will be in there.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)(joining the 99March here in California as we speak). There are several other things but one of the funnest is entering stuff into our County Fair every year. I LOVE winning ribbons. I'm planning on entering 11 different things this year. Can't wait!
rurallib
(62,423 posts)it is hard to do. Thank you for following through!
OriginalGeek
(12,132 posts)and introduce me as such rather than "step-father".
My oldest asked me to be best man at his wedding and now his daughters call me Paw-paw.
I grew up with an intolerant, bigoted, right-wing religious nutjob step-father (and I will be happy to one day hear of his passing). I left home at 17 to get away from him and the only important thing I learned from him was how to not be a father.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)you really earned the position of Dad.
Happy Father's day early!
rurallib
(62,423 posts)One is personal, one family, and one civic.
First is my 2 daughters who are in their mid-30s. Both have far exceeded my dreams for them. The oldest is a vice-president in a midsized insurance firm. The youngest is currently a stay-at-home mother after her husband's promotion. She was a very successful science teacher prior to motherhood.
Second on the civic level is involvement with a mentoring program to help kids from poor families prepare and work toward college. Our first mentee will graduate from HS next year, well prepared for success we feel.
And on the personal level is giving blood, platelets and white cells. I am now in year 47 hoping to make it to 50. I have written of it before, so won't recount it here. But it is a longevity record I think few achieve ( well except for Skittles).
Coventina
(27,121 posts)Pretty lame in terms of accomplishments, but that's pretty much all I have.
B-52's
Berlin
Big Audio Dynamite
Billy Idol
Blondie
Bobby McFerrin
Bryan Ferry
Cake
The Call
Concrete Blonde
The Cramps
Crowded House
The Cult
The Cure
Cyndi Lauper
David Byrne
Dead Milkmen
Depeche Mode
Echo & the Bunnymen
Eurythmics
Roddy Frame
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Front 242
Gene Loves Jezebel
The Go-Go's
Green Day
Guadalcanal Diary
Howard Jones
Indigo Girls
INXS
Jane Wiedlin
Jesus and Mary Chain
Jewel
Laibach
Love and Rockets
Madonna
Ministry
Moby
Morrissey
Mumford and Sons
Natalie Merchant
New Order
Nine Inch Nails
No Doubt
Sinead O'Connor
Oingo Boingo
OMD
Pet Shop Boys
Peter Murphy
Pixies
Public Image Ltd.
REM
The Ramones
The Replacements
Reverend Horton Heat
Sarah McLachlan
The Selector
Simple Minds
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Sisters of Mercy
The Smithereens
The Smiths
Social Distortion
The Specials
Tegan and Sara
The The
They Might Be Giants
Thompson Twins
Tom Tom Club
Tracy Chapman
U2
Vampire Weekend
Violent Femmes
Weird Al Yankovic
There are probably some I've forgotten......
begin_within
(21,551 posts)Callmecrazy
(3,065 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)Ohio Joe
(21,756 posts)Someone had to do it.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)Family always comes first.
trof
(54,256 posts)Paul was a fighter pilot.
WW II Ace.
5 kills.
Shot down over the Med and survived.
He was career Air Force.
AFAIK his involvement in the return of downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers from Russia is still 'classified'.
I had to work my way up the chain of command to the Secretary of the Air Force to get authorization, but I was able to make it happen.
4 F-16s from the Alabama ANG.
Missing Man formation right over the memorial site.
Perfect.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)fizzgig
(24,146 posts)I love feeding people. I'm working on my baking now.
rurallib
(62,423 posts)do everything tastes better!
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)i'm going through a nasty depressive episode right now and bought a pack a few days ago as it was the only thing i could come up with for comfort (lame, i know). all they did was give me a headache, so it's back to the pen.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)I kid around a lot, get a few DUzys. My jokes crack me up, whether or not anyone else gets them. In life, humor is important.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,732 posts)I have never cheated on my income taxes.
I am kind to animals.
I recycle.
I can read music.
I did not get kicked out of college.
I am not anybody's nemesis.
That's about it.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)jrandom421
(1,005 posts)As a kid, I was ridiculed and ganged up on mercilessly, because I wasn't a "typical" kid. Even my parents thought I had mental issues, having all sort of problems dealing with people. They actually thought I'd have to live in a group home, working in a "protected" workshop, assembling parts into bigger parts, because I was so different and fascinated by technical things. It wasn't until I got to college, and majored in computer science and engineering, that I got any sort of respect.
And it wasn't until I was in my 40's that I was finally diagnosed as a high-functioning Asperger on the autistic spectrum. From there, my career has taken off, and I have become kind of a systems guru in a high tech mecca, with commensurate income, respect, and corporate influence, something my parents, siblings, the few friends I had, and my teachers were astounded to see.
And that has led me to say, "I'm living proof that living well is the best revenge, especially on those who doubted you or thought you'd fail."
rurallib
(62,423 posts)keep it up!
kwassa
(23,340 posts)as I was saved from drowning by my father when I was a small child.
A certain symmetry to this.
Haunauma Bay in Hawaii, a Japanese tourist getting swept out to sea. I just happened to be close, and when I looked around there was no one else. I didn't know what I was doing, but I managed this.
HipChick
(25,485 posts)as long as I have an internet connection...I spend about 6 months of the year on a tiny island