Monday, December 31, 2012

My Story -Part 1

I'm realizing that it's now been several months since I posted the preview for my story and I have yet to share any of my story. I plan to remedy that today by sharing the first part of my story. As of right now, I don't know how many parts of my story there will be. Just keep watching for them, and eventually I will end when I've gotten up to date.

As I start my story, I believe that in order to better know me, it is important to know my family as well. And so I would like to first introduce my parents.

My father, Michael Coon, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up, for the most part, in Sandy, Utah. He was the only child that his parents had together. That's not to say he was an only child, as both had been previously married and had children with their former spouses. My grandma's other children also lived with my grandparents when my dad was born, and while he was growing up, so he had siblings around, though the one closest to him in age was nine years older than him.

My dad served an LDS mission in what was at the time the Central Canadian Mission, which mostly covered Alberta and Saskatchewan. He went on to get a degree in Commercial Art from Utah Tradetech (the predecessor to Salt Lake Community College). I consider him to be a very talented artist. He has worked in several different fields through his life, though the majority of it has been spent working in construction (primarily as a drywaller). My dad is also a movie buff, and knows a lot of trivia about movies and actors.

My mother, Cynthia Zobell, was also born in Salt Lake City, and grew up in the Cottonwood area (which has since been incorporated into Murray). She was the third of five children in her family, and the only girl. There was an age difference of several years between her and her next oldest brother, as well as her next youngest brother.

After high school she attended the University of Utah, going on to get a degree in Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood Development. She taught pre-school in our home for several years while her children were still young, later teaching at pre-school programs sponsored by the local district, and once all of her children had started school, she began teaching full-time as an elementary school teacher. I remember growing up that reading was a hobby of hers, and is probably something that I inherited from her.

My parents first met on a blind date. They dated for several months before being engaged. After a several month long engagement, they married in the Salt Lake Temple. They lived in a couple of different apartments in the year or so after they were first married, and by the time I was born a year and a half later, they had bought a home in Kearns, Utah.

My parents first started trying to have children soon after they were married. My mom's first two pregnancies ended in miscairrages, which was heartbreaking for both of my parents, but even more so for my mom. After the miscairrages, they took a break for a while to recover from the experiences. On their next attempt, I was concieved, and I was born a little over a year and a half after they married. My birth was welcome for this young family, but was not without its challenges.

My birth was not an easy one. I was a week overdue and weighed over nine pounds, which was quite challenging for a first-time mother to deliver. I also experienced some head trauma during my delivery, and had seizures during the first month or so of my life. I was fortunate that they stopped after that.

Beyond that, my infancy was probably unremarkable in most ways (though my parents might disagree, as raising the first child in a family generally tends to be an adventure). At any rate, I don't remember much of my "toddlerhood." My first memories start around the time I was two years old, and also coincide with the birth of my brother, Matt.

* * * * *

Though I have only gotten to the age of two years old, this seems like a good stopping point for now (though you can also blame it on the fact that I waited until it was rather late in the day to start writing this post). But I will continue on with my story in the coming weeks and months.

As this is my last blog post of the year, and it is New Year's Eve, I'd like to wish you a Happy New Year! I'll end with the following quote that I came across earlier today:

"Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New Year will bring new opportunities."

May we all learn and grow from these challenges and opportunities that come with the New Year.

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