Every now and again, I log in to my blogger account and take a walk down Memory Lane. Some posts remind me of sweet times. Others remind me of rough times. They ALL remind me of just how far we have come.
My last post was a year ago. The one previous to that was a much longer time ago than that. I would apologize, but I don't feel that I need to. I began blogging as a way to open up to myself. I blogged to get my thoughts and feelings in order. Then I started to share my blog with the world, and that was good too. Ultimately, though some (one, maybe?) of you may still check in to follow along on our journey, it's possible that this blog has been relegated to serving as a personal journal once again. I know it is out there for anybody to read, but the likelihood of me becoming this great blogger who can support her family on income earned from her blog is non-existent.
I'm good with that. I never intended to make money from my blogging anyway. It has been a place for me to share triumphs and joys, failures and disappointments, and everything in between. This blog will continue to do just that for me, whether I have any readers left or not.
My last blog was a very heavy one for me to post. I didn't plan to not return to share anything further. I just have been busy with getting on with our lives.
Since Gordon passed away just over three years ago, Grace has graduated high school and gone off to college. She has since decided it isn't worth $60,000+/year to earn a degree in photography, so she returned home after only one semester away. I'm more than secretly happy at this change of events. I missed her terribly while she was gone -- off to a city more than a 4.5hr drive from home. She is planning on finding a full time job, where she can work her butt off to save up money and figure out where to go to college to pursue a different degree that will serve her better. She just returned home from a 2 week trip to Canada, where she stayed with her boyfriend and his family. Every time I look at her, I no longer see the young lady that Gordon and I were so proud to raise. I now only see the strong, independent, smart young woman she has become. She has great things headed her way, but she isn't awaiting their delivery at the doorstep. She is going to go out and grab all that she wants/needs in life.
Dianna is now a Junior in High School. She is still very into all things Drama Club. She has performed on stage as a Greaser in the musical, Grease, as one of the Jurors in the play 12 Angry Jurors (formerly 12 Angry Men), and as Malcolm in MacBeth. Right now, she is at rehearsal for the spring musical -- Les Miserables. I have always worried about Dianna -- she tries so hard to fit in and be liked by everyone. I think she may have found her 'tribe' with the Drama Club. She is starting to look at colleges. She says she wants to become a math teacher for middle/high schoolers. We have visited a couple of colleges already, but I expect there will be more visits this spring and next fall. Is it bad that I hope she chooses a college that isn't more than 2-3hrs away?
William is still William. He has had a stellar start to 8th grade. His doctor and I have agreed to put him on meds for his ADD, and I believe it has made a world of difference for him. I have only once had to sit down with him to nudge him along in completing homework this school year. Most days he gets it all accomplished during study hall at school and doesn't even have to worry about it in the evenings. He even made the honor roll for the first semester of school. Such a far cry from what we have dealt with for the last five years!
Eleanor. My HoneyGirl. My heart still breaks so very much to think that she'll likely have only a few memories of her father. She is sweet and loving, smart, and inquisitive. She has been labelled "Talented and Gifted" by the school system. Unfortunately, there is no longer a TAG program to help enrich her, but she seeks clubs and activities that do just that. As a 5th grader, she has happily joined the newspaper club and the Math Club. Nora has a voracious appetite for reading, very much like her Momma. She also still loves to play soccer very much, and has had some great coaches through the years that have taught her quite a bit.
And then there is me. I'm more than happy to report that I have found a special someone. He has brought laughter back into my life -- so much more laughter than I ever thought one could possibly have. I was absolutely smitten the very first time I met him. Luckily I didn't scare him off right away, which is surprising, considering our first date I literally chatted his ear off while telling all about how I was a widowed mom of four who had only lost her husband 6mos previously and wasn't really sure I was really truly ready to jump into the whole dating scene. Butch took it all in stride then, and still does now. He and his daughter moved in to our house a little over a year ago. Of course there were growing pains, but that's to be expected. He proposed a year ago New Year's. I look forward to the day that I get to say "I do". I never ever ever expected to find another great love like I have -- what makes me so special to get to have TWO great loves in one lifetime?!
I probably should end this saga up now......it's almost time to think about starting to make dinner.
I will try to get back on here again before another year has passed. Typing like this is definitely good for my soul. Even if nobody is ever going to read it. xoxo
