Hello - My Introduction to me and my blog

Hello friends!  Thank you so much for stopping by.  This is my first time doing a blog and I am nervous but also excited and even a bit emotional.  Those of you who don't know me may wonder why I'm nervous about it, after all it's no different from what I've been doing for the last four years on Spot-light.  I'll talk more about that later, for those of you who don't know what that is. 

First a bit about the title of my blog.  Again, those who know me, know I am not brief in any of my explanations.  Four years ago, on my 45th birthday, I took a little trip that changed my life.  I decided that I wanted to make a childhood dream, of seeing the Osmonds, come true.  I loved Donny and the Osmonds when I was a little girl.  They were part of a very nice childhood, which I am grateful to have had.  Once I went out into the world, the Osmonds stayed in the past, and I went off to the University of Arizona where I completed my degree in English.  I loved studying literature, both American and English, and I enjoyed writing and felt happiest when I challenged my mind during those years.  I eventually ended up in the social services profession and I currently work as a benefits case worker and find fullfillment in helping others who may not know how to navigate through the red tape and bureacracy it takes to apply for services that they need when they are experiencing challenges in life.  Let's just say, I see a lot of seriousness and some sadness in the work that I do, but I have been told by many I help that I have a gift and to not stop doing what I do. 

But back to The Osmonds . . . I think I discovered them just when it seemed like I was going to need something that would make me happy for the pure sake of being happy.  I think in the two years before I found the Osmonds, or they found me, I suppose I had been immersed in a lot of responsiblities managing the affairs of my now departed father.  I will talk about that another time, but I bring that up because many of us in our age demographic feel pulled in different directions as we find ourselves dealing with issues involving elder care and coming to terms with the fact that our parents now need us to help them.   Then add to that, the fact that we , ourselves, see the writing on the wall and see that glimpse into our own futures.  For me, it was very hard and I still can't talk about some of the emotions I felt as I walked that road, but I had lost "Cristina" somewhere as I took on these new responsibilities.  Not that I have any regrets.  It was a gift that I was able to get to know so much about my parents' lives as I had to slow down and be there for them.  I have no regrets.  But fate, God, the Universe .  . . something or someone knew that I needed something, something BIG to lift some of the sadness I was feeling and to make me feel joy and look at the world and people once again.

Well, along came The Osmonds . . . lol!  jaygal is sort of my "online" alter ego.  She is the part of me who likes glamour, who likes fashion, who loves shoes, who goes and gets her hair done and makes sure she looks her best, no matter what else is going on in my life.  jaygal is someone fun and someone who is outgoing and talkative but also interested in others and loves making new friends.  She is the part of Cristina that had been missing for a long time.  I selected that name when I was introduced to a fan-run online forum where friends posted about their lives and about the Osmonds.  I thought jaygal would be anonymous and identify me as a Jay Osmond fan, since everyone always asks who your favorite Osmond is, although I love Donny too as he was part of my childhood, and now that I've met them all several times, I just love them all.  Well, so much for being anonymous, lol!  I don't think that worked out very well, which brings me to the reason I started this blog.

In just 11 days I will be headed to the United Kingdom for my very first trip ever to ENGLAND!!!!  I am beyond excited, but also kind of scared, lol!  But I am very much looking forward to it.  I'm not going to lie, one big objective of my trip is to expererience Osmondsmania, UK style!!!!  It's something that is part of our conciousness, as Osmonds fans, that image of the Osmonds landing at Heathrow airport back in the 1970's and the CROWDS of screaming girls!  Well, now 35 or so years later, I get to be one of those girls, lol!  I talk about finding the joy of the inner child and I will often refer to my 10-13 year old self.  I think it is important to look at who we were at that age, when we had an open-eyed wonder toward the world and people and to try to identify what it was we wanted out of life then, what were our hopes and dreams.  I have found a bit of that and that 10-13 year old me reminds me to lighten up, have fun and they are afraid of nothing, lol.  Adult me and 10-13 year old me are looking forward to fulfilling a dream of visiting England and are looking forward to meeting new friends there.  This blog is where I will post about my impressions on my travels in England in 11 days, and my Time Travels into the 1970's to see THE OSMONDS in the UK!!!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I have something to post once I'm there, lol!

-Cristina (jaygal)