I Baked, LLC

Sharon's Story

I try to change my life about every decade, and make major changes every 20 years. When I turned 20 I was married and had one child.

When I turned 30 I went back to college because I was bored. I signed up for ceramics and volleyball. My husband wanted me to get a degree that was useful, so I got my degree in accounting. I hated accounting, it was boring. I should have gotten a degree in psychology, it would have been more fun. I spent 2 years living in a freshman dorm in a 4-year college--that was an experience when I was married with 2 kids.

At 40 I had just gotten divorced and moved halfway across the country, from Minnesota to Boston.

At 50 we were down in Georgia and I just threw a great big party -- I decorated the house up all in teal & purple (my favorite colors), flew my kids down from Minnesota for it -- had all my friends over. I had a blast!

Just after 50, I went back to school again, here in New York -- I went back to pastry school. I never missed a day, I worked 5 days a week and went to school all weekend. I don't think my husband saw me without a grin. He loved it because I brought my homework home. He was very popular at work, because he'd take things to work. I loved it, I finally found what I should be doing with my life!

And at 60 my husband took me on an 8 day trip without telling me where he was taking me. That one was fun because he didn't tell me! We were at the airport, he had to confirm the tickets, so he made me go away. I showed them my ID, I went away from the desk, they planned all the tickets. He kept telling me we were going to Newark (NJ). Because we flew out of Stewart on Delta, so from Stewart we went to Atlanta (a Delta hub). He said "See, we're still going to Newark, we're just taking the long way." Then we flew to Salt Lake City. When we changed planes in Atlanta he sat in the wrong gate so I wouldn't know where we were going.

In Salt Lake City our gate was one of 10 in the waiting area, so I still had no idea where we were going. Then out to San Jose. I still didn't know where we were going because now we had to drive. I spent my 60th birthday in a hot tub in Monterrey which had been a dream of mine for years -- he didn't know that, I never told him. This man knows me better than I do, it scares me.

I got to go out to San Francisco to a sourdough factory and Ghirardelli Square -- it's like "is there anywhere else that's heaven?" I had chocolate, baking and my husband! Awesome!

I figure at 70 I'm going to own the world, although I've decided that now that I've hit 60 I'm going to have to do this in increments of 5 years instead of 10 because I can't wait that long anymore.

I have a husband I'm going to keep -- I've earned him after putting up with the first one! I have 2 kids, 5 grandkids, and 6 great-grandkids who don't live close enough.