This is my first blog, and while I believe the welcome section gives you a bit of insight into who I am, I thought it might be good to start with a little more background. I’ve lived in the Midwest for most of my life, though I was raised in Idaho. I moved to the Midwest for undergrad and never left.
Shortly after college, I met my now soon-to-be ex-husband. We’ve been married for almost 19 years and together for 22. For the most part, we get along. In fact, we are still living together for now due to financial reasons, which has put us in a somewhat unique situation. Once we sell a piece of property, we’ll be able to move on. Until then, we deal with the cards life has dealt us.
Since filing for divorce, our house has been more peaceful. There are no eggshells to walk on, which is a good thing. We try to go out to dinner once a week to maintain our friendship, because even though we need to be apart, events that are important to our children—graduations, weddings, etc.—will still require us to be in the same space. At the end of the day, I don’t want my kids to feel like they have to choose between us because we can’t be civil. So, we do our best to keep our friendship strong, even though the love has faded.
I have two amazing kids. My world has revolved around them for almost 17 years. They are boy/girl twins, and I refer to them as Boy Child and Girl Child—or the Twinkies. Yes, I do, and they hate it, but I think deep down they might secretly enjoy it. They’re at that age where they’re each other’s biggest fans and biggest enemies. They fight like crazy, but they’re also there for each other when it counts.
Just yesterday, Girl Child asked me to help her with her math. I took one look at it and called Boy Child to the rescue. He grabbed his calculators and phone, did some quick research, and showed her how to solve the problems. She tried to talk him into just doing the work for her, but being the “evil mother” that I am, I wouldn’t allow it. Plus, she wouldn’t have let him do it anyway—she knew she needed to learn it for her test.
Both of my kids are very involved in school. But when I see all the things high school kids are doing online, I sometimes feel like they’re falling short. They’re both two-sport athletes (though she’s a manager for one), they both work, and they’re both social butterflies. Girl Child is upbeat, sometimes off-the-wall, and the life of the party. Boy Child is more reserved, but I don’t think that’s the full story. They each have a great group of friends who help keep them out of trouble.
Now, back to me—after all, that’s what this blog is supposed to be about, right? Who am I? It depends on who you ask. I manage the front end of a boutique staffing firm, and let me tell you, I’ve got some wild stories from the last 15 years—watch for those, some of them are too crazy to make up. I’m a friend to a few, but I hold them close. This transition in my life has been tough, but I hope they all know that I’m here for them if they need me, even though I’ve kind of fallen into a black hole and haven’t been seen much lately. I also sit on the board for our high school booster club. Madame Vice President here—nothing too special, but I get to help the kids, which is fun. Plus, I’m a team mom and help coordinate volunteers for all kinds of activities.
In short, my life is *hella* busy. So why am I starting a blog? Life is hard, and sometimes it sucks. Right now, that’s where I am. I’m using this site as a way to give myself something to do, a reason to get off the couch when all I really want to do is play a stupid game on my phone. People say my kids should be reason enough to keep going, and they are—but they’re at an age where Mom isn’t as needed as much anymore. There are so many things I’ve wanted to try for years but have always put off. That’s where Fresh Onsets comes in. New starts, new beginnings, whatever—everything else was taken. Mr. Thesaurus helped me find this, and it works. I need something fresh, and I want it.
So, welcome to my journey!