Who did you used to want to be when you grew up?

"My name is Bond... Cheryl Bond... Um... Antier."

When I was young, I decided I wanted to be a spy when I grew up.  I thought it would be terribly exciting, and romantic and fascinating (there’s one of my favorite ‘F-Words)…

To help give myself an edge when I was ready to go apply with the CIA, I studied Morse Code, and the latitude and longitude of all the countries, and even started teaching myself Russian, from tapes I borrowed from the local library.  And I also started doing some strength training exercises from the Marines, and reading everything I needed to know to become a locksmith (of course, I was mostly interested in learning how to pick them – something else I taught myself how to do.)

And I wrote marvelous, exciting stories about my life as a spy… (“Bond, Cheryl Bond…)

At 18, I almost joined the army – not only did I want to ‘be all I could be’ – but I thought being a helicopter pilot would be a useful skill for a spy as well. Of course, I changed my mind on that one after a family friend who was a high-ranking officer explained that just because the recruiter promised I’d be flying helicopters, enjoying spa days and having lots of time for dating and going shopping – DIDN’T necessarily mean it – I changed my mind.  (Mucking around as a mechanic and getting grease under my nails just WASN’T my idea of fun!)

When I was a little older, I started repo-ing cars – cause I liked the adrenaline rush, and because a spy never knows when they’re going to have to be able to hotwire the nearest get-away car.  And after getting formally escorted off an Indian Reservation in Arizona, and being politely told I wasn’t welcome to return, I came up with an idea for not only being able to repo any car for my clients – but having their owners happily cooperating and giving me their keys.

And then, after I had kids, I decided being a spy – when I was an old woman – would still be a good idea.  First of all, it’s great cover. Who would expect a nice little gray-haired lady to be Mata Hari?   Plus, I figured, being a spy beat being a bag lady in the cold, or spending my final years in a nursing home somewhere, where the most exciting thing that happened was sitting in a rocking chair while I watched my teeth soaking in a glass by the bed. And I created bedtime stories for my boys – full of heros and heroines, brave deeds and evil foes…

No matter what job I’ve ever had – or what business I started and later sold, or walked away from, one thing stayed consistent. Somehow, some way, I always wrote.  And eventually, I figured out that writing – is my biggest, and longest-lived passion.

And a little while after that, I learned I could do what I loved – and make enough money to build the kind of lifestyle I wanted.

So what about you? When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?  What were you so excited about – so passionate about – that you’d spend all your extra time doing it?  What did you love learning about?  Trying? Playing with?

Please feel free to leave a comment below, ’cause I’d love to hear about what you wanted to be when you grew up!