25X36X365: Sharon

Sharon is a virtual friend, unknown yet wholly known. I know about her trials finding dresses for weddings (shame on the Groom's Mother for picking its twin). Who doesn't need a role model of multilingual living?

24X36X365: Emanuela

Emanuela came crashing into my life through a car accident (not mine). With her entrance I found another part of myself - best friend, sister, soul-mate. We use our flat teeth to make statements, some coherent.

23X36X365: Juliana (the only)

Juliana is a twin not joined at the hip (or any other body part). She is as special as a ray of sunshine, as unique as a snowflake, her smiles lights the heart. She is mine.

22X36X365: Victor (the smaller)

Victor came into my life with a bang (or was it a gush). With his mischieveous smiles and sly grins, he wormed his way into my heart for good. His sweet little man-ness is truly overwhelming.

21X36X365: Leila (the smaller)

Leila uses her shy smile and sweet disposition to take captives. She stole my heart at her birth and hasn't loosened her grip one iota. She broadened my world and gave me a new role: Mom.

20X36X365: Harmonica Man

Harmonica Man was a fixture in my childhood. Although I'm sure he had a name, I never knew it. He gave all the kids at the festival harmonicas and we loved seeing him again each year.

19X36X365: Leon

Leon rode into my life on his unicycle. I may have been only 4, but with his wavy blond hair and his sense of humor (not to mention his 6' tall unicycle...), he was all that.

18X36X365: Lara

Lara was a rare breed of friend from camp. Every year we came together as if we hadn't parted. My pictures (and memories) are of her in a mouse costume. Would I know her without it?

17X36X365: Mrs. Hewitt

Mrs. Hewitt enticed interest in long gone characters with her tales of skinny-dipping presidents (JQ Adams) and crazed madmen shooting the Commander in Chief in the White House. Her excitement brought them to life again.

16X36X365: Mrs. Tarrant

Mrs. Tarrant was one of THOSE teachers (no, not the ones who inspire you). She called my Mom in for a conference because I corrected her pronounciation, then my Mom did it too. She gave up.

15X36X365: Alan

Alan is a great boss and a good friend. He helped me leave an awful job and move into a great organization. He went far beyond boss and I'm very lucky we met in bad company.

14X36X365: Kathy

Kathy was the co-conspirator in my childhood ramblings. Lazy summer days in the pool and countless hours of hide-and-seek marked our days. We were best friends and confidants. Sadly, we grew up and apart.

13X36X365: Mrs. Womack

Mrs. Womack is an inspiration. Although she had odd speech patterns, her love of the English language excited me to learn. She made us write one sentence with each of the 37 sentence patterns - very hard.

12X36X365: Emanuela

Emanuela has flat teeth just like me. She is like the sister I never had and always wanted. Although we see each other infrequently, she always there. I am so happy she is a Mom now.

11X36X365: Chris

Chris demonstrated what NOT to do as a boss. Abusive, loud, rude, and disrespectful, he ran daddy's company into the ground. I watched him verablly abuse his sister my first day on the job. Ahhh, nepotism.

10X36X365: Dr. Fraley

A day late on this one due to a small blizzard we had here in Jordan, but here goes.

Dr. Fraley captured the imagination. Although his topic was history, it was the rumors about those bumps on his forehead that fueled the speculation - shrapnel from the war? None were brave enough to ask. Good teacher.

9X36X365: Paula

Paula is the first math teacher I had who understood her topic like one who wasn't born to it. She unwrapped the unit circle for us (literally) and opened our eyes. She made calculus almost bearable.

8X36X365: Sonja

Sonja was the type of best friend high school girls have. We shared and stole everything from each other, including boys (although mine were better than hers). She had the only standard poodle I've ever seen.

7X36X365: Shawn

Shawn taught me so many things that our family was unable to teach. I learned to manage money and aspects of being a gracious hostess and friend. She is more than just family, she's a mentor.

6X36X365: Terry

Terry is a spiritual leader who opens hearts and minds. Although we often (okay almost always) disagree, he makes me think about and understand my position. Oh, and his heart is absolutely in the right place.

5X36X365: Philip

Philip holds my heart and is usually gentle with it (when he's not I yell at him). We share work, life, and love. He helps me stay grounded. With God at the center we have love.

4X36X365: Marla

Marla is the sister of my heart. She has taught me so much about being a Mom and how to let go of the unimportant. I've also learned that we can choose the family we want.

3X36X365: Colleen

Colleen is a beautiful friend. Her thin physique with womanly curves makes others jealous, but her bright personality makes her much loved. I miss her these days as we've drifted far apart in space and contact.

2X36X365: Robert

Robert taught me how to be a good boss. I will always remember him up to his elbows in dust on annual spring cleaning day. He never asked anyone to do a job that he wouldn't.

1X36X365: Pat

Pat took me into her office and heart. She showed me what graciousness is and worried what people would think if they looked under her guest bed and saw dustbunnies (I wondered why they would look).

A New Journey

I read about this awesome guy, Dan (http://www.logolalia.com/40x365/), who started a blog to commemorate his 40th birthday. Each day of the year he wrote 40 words on one of 365 people people who have touched his life. He has a set of rules that I expect I'll mostly follow...

Here's his challenge in his own words. "Try this: make a list of 365 people whose names you remember and who were interesting to you. Even if you don't want to write 40 about each, at least try making the list. And then, if you can, write down a few words about each of them before they're gone from your memory. If you can't do this, it might be wise to spend the next 365 days meeting more people in person who are interesting to you. Learn their names. "

Well, I'm all about challenges and even more about commemorating, so... welcome to MommaBean's 365.

36X365, here I come.