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The Baseball Scholarship
In March of his senior year, my dad was offered a baseball scholarship to Saint Mary's college. He hadn't even heard of this school until senior year, but once he heard how amazing the school was, the scholarship was an offer he couldn't refuse. This event is important to my dad because without the baseball scholarship, he wouldn't have gone to Saint Mary's and he wouldn't have met my mom. -
A Risky Job Offer
After several years of dating my mom, my dad got a job offer in Seattle. He took the job, which was risky since my mom was still in San Francisco full-time teaching and finishing her master's program. She never fully committed to the idea, but they made it work, and she eventually moved up here and my parents ended up getting married here. This event is important to my dad because our lived and our family as a whole would be so different if we lived in the Bay Area or Colorado. -
Our First House
My parents' first house was in Maple Valley. Most people see their first house as important because it's simply a milestone. For my dad, it's more than that. My parents had a traditional timeline in terms of houses and kids. A house was the first priority. Once they bought a house, they knew it was time to start trying to have kids. -
Thing One
The birth of my older sister, Bailey, wasn't an event I was around to see. However, I still think it's an important one because she was the first kid. The start of the family. Her birth was so much sweeter since she followed the miscarriage of twins. She also shaped my parents into what kind of parents they were going to be for her, Casey, and I. Fun fact: Bailey is leaving for college tomorrow! -
Molly in the Middle
It may sound super conceded to say that my birth was so wildly important, but it was and for good reason. I was no doubt the easiest baby. I was super lethargic and I didn't cry much. If I had been a disaster, my parents probably wouldn't have gone on to have a third child. If Casey wasn't born, the whole family dynamic would be different, and we probably wouldn't live where we do now. -
Thing Two
Casey's birth was probably the most important of the three. If she wasn't born, we definitely wouldn't be living in our current home for a family of five. We might live in the area still because our first home was very small. The people we know and the schools we went to would all be different. My parents might even have different jobs. -
Saying Goodbye to Spookie
Putting down our beloved cat, Spookie, isn't important to our family just because it was the loss of a pet. Spookie, according to my dad, was "the tie that bridged all gaps". My dad got Spookie for my mom in 1992 while they were dating and was like their first kid. He lived for 16 years, long enough for us kids to know him and love him. He had been more a part of the making of our family than us kids were at the time. -
Back to School
My mom went back to school to get her principal credentials when the administrative jobs in the district got changed. When she completed the year-long program, it was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. It was the end of the year of hard work- pinching pennies to afford student loans, everyone having to be self-sufficient, and my mom balancing working at a new school and school.