a Decade in the Life..2000-2010
Just read Petey's entry where he summed up the past 10 years...and really liked the idea, so I am stealing copying his idea. A LOT has happened in my life during this decade...so I am gonna think back over it for a moment. (and since most of you did not know me during these years, it'll give you a chance to peek into how I've become this wonderfully fabulous megaterrific woman you read before you!! BWHAHAHAHA..whatever!! but it will give you a chance to learn a little more about me.)
My world expanded in the year 2000. I had just celebrated my 10th anniversary, and had 3 small children. Trey was 7, Matthew was 18 months old, and Molly was 4 months old.
That tax season bought us our very first computer, which I still have and was using up until this past year! I quickly found a chatroom where I made many friends (most of whom I am still very close to), and I opened up my first online diary that summer. FreeOpenDiary!
I learned to use email and chat and my world grew bigger.
The beginning of the end....
This year opened up with the ice storm of the ages! An extra week of vacation and the realization that my marriage was coming to an end.
My husband moved out, moved back in, and we tried.
I became aware of who I was, who I was not, and searched for who I wanted to be. I realized the innerdepths of my womanhood, my personhood, and realized that I would never be the mother for my children I needed to be if life continued the same way.
I met many of my "online" friends who became "real life friends" for life!
OH..and I survived the crazy stalker pyschobitch who tried to destroy my life.
The year of transition
January found us seperating for good. It was a tough year emotionally, financially, and mentally. I found myself an outcast in my community, my family, but not with my friends. Through the love and support of some very dear people I realized that I did deserve happiness, my children deserved a happy mom, and I worked to become a stronger, more self-reliant woman.
In our small town, it wasn't easy, changing into this new person, but I persevered. The divorce was final in October. My family could finally start to heal. With the love of a young italian man who lived in Florida, we survived and moved on.
a rough year at work.
Still teaching first grade, in Glenwood, where I'd been since 1993.
small town gossip...change is not always a good thing there.
By school year's end, I knew I needed a change. I searched for new jobs, sending out applications to every school district within a 100 mile radius of there so that the children would not be too far from their dad and grandparents. I got a few bites....and took a job in Hope. At summer's end we packed up, moved to a town where we knew noone, and started our lives over.
I left behind my oldest child, now 10 years old and not wanting to move to "the big city" and a much bigger school. With his sports, his friends, and other things going on in his life, I agreed that keeping him settled where he was, with his dad, was the best thing for him.
I still believe it was..but now know it was not the best thing for "us", for our relationship. Would I go back and change that? No...but looking back, I would now go back and change things along the way to better our interactions with each other from that point on.
Molly's 4th birthday in August we moved into our new home, a small, but cozy duplex. I found a preschool for her across the street from my new school, and got Matthew enrolled in Kindergarten in my building.
I was still dating the Italian Stallion, but even that relationship was waning. A new life was beginning for us, but I felt like I was where I belonged.
I rang in the new year in Florida. We continued to settle into our new lives. I was making friends, but still had noone close. We were church shopping, and trying to find our niche in this new town.
Molly started kindergarten, Matthew-1st grade, and Trey moved up to 5th grade. I was asked to be a "model classroom teacher" that fall, helping to train other teachers in literacy protocol. Even in this much bigger school (there were 14 first grade classes, compared to the 3 at the Glenwood school), I was finally being acknowledged in my career. My sister remarried but my love life was not going as well...it was slowly coming to an end, and we both knew it, but neither of us were ready to admit it.
Another year of new beginnings.
January found me ending the long distance relationship with my italian friend. Neither of us were able to do anything to make the relationship progress, so it was time to let it go.
I put myself "out there" on yahoo personals and match.com, and got some bites. Went out on a few dates during Jan and Feb. Met a nice man, altho I found him to be a bit "dorky". He was fun though, made me laugh, and was so very sweet.
By March we'd decided to date exclusively....and still are to this day!
I was still loving my school, and settled into a church, was more confident in my life than ever. My children were doing well, healthy and happy. We traveled to KY for a family reunion during the summer and life was good.
Baby Mary joined our family in September, and we lost my BIL right at Halloween, just 16 months after he joined our family. There were a few medical issues with Greg throughout the year, and his mother tried her hardest to run me off. We had our moments of tryng to figure out how to make the relationship work, but all in all, it did.
This year we plugged along. Matthew had a hard time dealing with the loss of Uncle Tim but we dealt with it. He enjoyed scouting activities, as did Molly and we got our first taste of the joys of selling Girl Scout cookies! Trey started playing basketball and we traveled for many games.
My struggles with cervical issues started, and checkups and procedures became routine. I struggled in my relationship with Greg. His mother was still fighting against me. He was having to work too much, and it was taking a toll on his health. I wasn't always sure where I fit in, even tho he assured me of my importance in his life.
Molly started cheering, Trey became a teenager, and Matthew did better in school.
This year started off with cryosurgery for me, and turning 40 in March!
We decided our duplex was just too small anymore for my ever growing (physically) family. Matthew turned 9, Molly was almost 8, and Trey was bigger than I was. The kids just could not share a bedroom any longer, and we wanted a house. We moved into our current location in June and loved it! A trip to Arizona in the summer for my mother and me was vacation, and Matthew broke off his two front teeth on the third day of school in August. I learned to play Bunko, was asked to join the Junior Auxiliary, and finally felt like I was "someone" in our community.
The M&Ms and I had the "birds and the bees" talk and Molly came to the realization that Mom had had sex THREE TIMES!! Thanksgiving Brunch was at my house this year (a first) and I was treated to a day at the spa by a friend for Christmas. We were still dealing with Greg's health issues, and it got scary for awhile, but all in all, a nice calm year.
The year started out with the big HANNAH MONTANA movie with girlfriends. Then in February, my widowed sister married again and we all celebrated with her. I went to Birmingham in May on a JA trip, and we survived a tornado scare in Greg's closet on prom night. Matthew turned 10, Molly went to Girl Scout camp for the first time, and we took the Road Trip of a Lifetime for 9 days that summer, going through AR, TN, MS, AL, FL, GA and back. Molly turned 9, Trey turned 15 and started driving legally, and my sister announced that at the age of 37 she was pregnant.
The biggest shock of the year came at Christmas when Greg's mother gave me a gift...for the first time ever. We'd been dating nearly 4 years and this was the first time she'd ever made an effort. It was a turning point! My relationship with him was at it's most comfortable point...both of us happy with where we were and just enjoying it.
It was a good year.
For the 2009 year in review...stay tuned. It's coming up next. But suffice it to say, it was a year of friends, family, and fun!
These past 10 years have gone by faster than I realized, but they were full of growth. Not just the kids' growth, but my own. I blossomed from a frumpy unhappy 32 year old woman, to an independant strong notable woman of worth. And I could not have survived them without the support of my friends, both online and off!
May the next decade bring even more good things to us all!
Don't forget to go back an entry and tell me what you are doing for New Year's Eve tonight, too!
My world expanded in the year 2000. I had just celebrated my 10th anniversary, and had 3 small children. Trey was 7, Matthew was 18 months old, and Molly was 4 months old.
That tax season bought us our very first computer, which I still have and was using up until this past year! I quickly found a chatroom where I made many friends (most of whom I am still very close to), and I opened up my first online diary that summer. FreeOpenDiary!
I learned to use email and chat and my world grew bigger.
The beginning of the end....
This year opened up with the ice storm of the ages! An extra week of vacation and the realization that my marriage was coming to an end.
My husband moved out, moved back in, and we tried.
I became aware of who I was, who I was not, and searched for who I wanted to be. I realized the innerdepths of my womanhood, my personhood, and realized that I would never be the mother for my children I needed to be if life continued the same way.
I met many of my "online" friends who became "real life friends" for life!
OH..and I survived the crazy stalker pyschobitch who tried to destroy my life.
The year of transition
January found us seperating for good. It was a tough year emotionally, financially, and mentally. I found myself an outcast in my community, my family, but not with my friends. Through the love and support of some very dear people I realized that I did deserve happiness, my children deserved a happy mom, and I worked to become a stronger, more self-reliant woman.
In our small town, it wasn't easy, changing into this new person, but I persevered. The divorce was final in October. My family could finally start to heal. With the love of a young italian man who lived in Florida, we survived and moved on.
a rough year at work.
Still teaching first grade, in Glenwood, where I'd been since 1993.
small town gossip...change is not always a good thing there.
By school year's end, I knew I needed a change. I searched for new jobs, sending out applications to every school district within a 100 mile radius of there so that the children would not be too far from their dad and grandparents. I got a few bites....and took a job in Hope. At summer's end we packed up, moved to a town where we knew noone, and started our lives over.
I left behind my oldest child, now 10 years old and not wanting to move to "the big city" and a much bigger school. With his sports, his friends, and other things going on in his life, I agreed that keeping him settled where he was, with his dad, was the best thing for him.
I still believe it was..but now know it was not the best thing for "us", for our relationship. Would I go back and change that? No...but looking back, I would now go back and change things along the way to better our interactions with each other from that point on.
Molly's 4th birthday in August we moved into our new home, a small, but cozy duplex. I found a preschool for her across the street from my new school, and got Matthew enrolled in Kindergarten in my building.
I was still dating the Italian Stallion, but even that relationship was waning. A new life was beginning for us, but I felt like I was where I belonged.
I rang in the new year in Florida. We continued to settle into our new lives. I was making friends, but still had noone close. We were church shopping, and trying to find our niche in this new town.
Molly started kindergarten, Matthew-1st grade, and Trey moved up to 5th grade. I was asked to be a "model classroom teacher" that fall, helping to train other teachers in literacy protocol. Even in this much bigger school (there were 14 first grade classes, compared to the 3 at the Glenwood school), I was finally being acknowledged in my career. My sister remarried but my love life was not going as well...it was slowly coming to an end, and we both knew it, but neither of us were ready to admit it.
Another year of new beginnings.
January found me ending the long distance relationship with my italian friend. Neither of us were able to do anything to make the relationship progress, so it was time to let it go.
I put myself "out there" on yahoo personals and match.com, and got some bites. Went out on a few dates during Jan and Feb. Met a nice man, altho I found him to be a bit "dorky". He was fun though, made me laugh, and was so very sweet.
By March we'd decided to date exclusively....and still are to this day!
I was still loving my school, and settled into a church, was more confident in my life than ever. My children were doing well, healthy and happy. We traveled to KY for a family reunion during the summer and life was good.
Baby Mary joined our family in September, and we lost my BIL right at Halloween, just 16 months after he joined our family. There were a few medical issues with Greg throughout the year, and his mother tried her hardest to run me off. We had our moments of tryng to figure out how to make the relationship work, but all in all, it did.
This year we plugged along. Matthew had a hard time dealing with the loss of Uncle Tim but we dealt with it. He enjoyed scouting activities, as did Molly and we got our first taste of the joys of selling Girl Scout cookies! Trey started playing basketball and we traveled for many games.
My struggles with cervical issues started, and checkups and procedures became routine. I struggled in my relationship with Greg. His mother was still fighting against me. He was having to work too much, and it was taking a toll on his health. I wasn't always sure where I fit in, even tho he assured me of my importance in his life.
Molly started cheering, Trey became a teenager, and Matthew did better in school.
This year started off with cryosurgery for me, and turning 40 in March!
We decided our duplex was just too small anymore for my ever growing (physically) family. Matthew turned 9, Molly was almost 8, and Trey was bigger than I was. The kids just could not share a bedroom any longer, and we wanted a house. We moved into our current location in June and loved it! A trip to Arizona in the summer for my mother and me was vacation, and Matthew broke off his two front teeth on the third day of school in August. I learned to play Bunko, was asked to join the Junior Auxiliary, and finally felt like I was "someone" in our community.
The M&Ms and I had the "birds and the bees" talk and Molly came to the realization that Mom had had sex THREE TIMES!! Thanksgiving Brunch was at my house this year (a first) and I was treated to a day at the spa by a friend for Christmas. We were still dealing with Greg's health issues, and it got scary for awhile, but all in all, a nice calm year.
The year started out with the big HANNAH MONTANA movie with girlfriends. Then in February, my widowed sister married again and we all celebrated with her. I went to Birmingham in May on a JA trip, and we survived a tornado scare in Greg's closet on prom night. Matthew turned 10, Molly went to Girl Scout camp for the first time, and we took the Road Trip of a Lifetime for 9 days that summer, going through AR, TN, MS, AL, FL, GA and back. Molly turned 9, Trey turned 15 and started driving legally, and my sister announced that at the age of 37 she was pregnant.
The biggest shock of the year came at Christmas when Greg's mother gave me a gift...for the first time ever. We'd been dating nearly 4 years and this was the first time she'd ever made an effort. It was a turning point! My relationship with him was at it's most comfortable point...both of us happy with where we were and just enjoying it.
It was a good year.
For the 2009 year in review...stay tuned. It's coming up next. But suffice it to say, it was a year of friends, family, and fun!
These past 10 years have gone by faster than I realized, but they were full of growth. Not just the kids' growth, but my own. I blossomed from a frumpy unhappy 32 year old woman, to an independant strong notable woman of worth. And I could not have survived them without the support of my friends, both online and off!
May the next decade bring even more good things to us all!
Don't forget to go back an entry and tell me what you are doing for New Year's Eve tonight, too!
Comments
Have a blessed New year!