Thanks Y'all

Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. I love gathering with my family - laughing, eating, laughing some more, eating some more, playing games, eating again... I am never so happy to be so miserably stuffed any other day of the year. No gifts, no frantic shopping, no stress, just amazing food and even more amazing family and friends.

I have never, ever, in my whole life been away from my family for Thanksgiving and I cannot imagine what that's like. I grew up in Georgia, always around my family and no matter how crazy they make me (and I make them), Thanksgiving is always cool.

This year I have a lot to be thankful for:

T, you're awesome. I see you struggle sometimes, and your strength is amazing to me.
K, you're my beautiful baby girl and I'm so very proud of you.
S, you've become a really cool young man. I know you'll find your way soon.

It’s My Birthday, It’s My Birthday…

Other than “Fiddy” showing up to sing for me (with his shirt off, of course), I don’t think I could ask for anything more for my birthday weekend. I have incredible friends who are the best support system I could ever imagine, great kids, and of course, my BFF, T (aka HB). We have a birthday dinner planned with good friends and good food, and Life is Good!


Think it’s only a coincidence that this is my 44th birthday, and just 4 days ago (on the 4th) Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States?? No Way! Life is Good!






http://www.lifeisgood.com/

Can't We Just Hire a Pool Boy?

Something I’ve learned this week: building a relationship is like having a pool. Maintenance is a pain in the ass (IS it!, Is it ever!). The cleaning, the scooping, the testing to make sure the chemicals are balanced – it’s a lot of work – every day. Constantly. (sigh). But we do all that hard work, not only to protect our investment but also so we can relax, chill out, and enjoy the fun – a fresh, clean, invigorating or relaxing swim. In relationships, sometimes we have to walk away and clear our minds (the cleaning and clearing debris), we talk things out and sometimes disagree (the scooping), and agree to disagree, compromise and figure out a solution (balancing the chemicals) so that we can relax and enjoy the fun of being together.

Sometimes being with T is a lot of work, a lot of times it’s so much fun (omg I laugh so hard I cry), and lots of times it’s just comfortable and reassuring. When times are hard, and seem impossible to get through, I think, can’t we just “hire a pool boy” to do all this hard work? But afterwards, I realize that we have to get through it in order to grow. Going through the tough times reminds me that I can’t take any of the fun parts of our relationship for granted. Even though having a pool boy would be convenient (and fun for ONE of us!), we’ll keep cleaning, scooping, and balancing – because there’s nothing more rewarding than a cool dip in a clear, well-balanced relationship, uhhh I mean pool.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does...

We all do stupid things. Don'tcha just hate it when you're about to say or do something stupid and you can hear that little voice in your head saying, "don't do it" or "shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" but you still do or say it anyway?? Omg, I HATE that!

This weekend was a rough weekend for me. I was tested, devastated, hopeful, relieved, forgiving, and patient. All in about 24 hours. I'm fricking exhausted. I cannot WAIT to get back to the normal chaos of my new job!

This weekend our relationship was tested - more than I was prepared to have it tested. One question that came up was - what kind of example am I setting for my children? My daughter, who doesn't have a good relationship with her biological father, craves a male father figure. I swear, I would have never agreed to let him move in if I ever thought that he would not be able to fill those shoes. Even if that's not what HE had in mind, it's always what I have in mind - because I know she's searching for "him". That always has to be in my mind anytime I begin a relationship. And any man I've ever been seriously involved with knows that it's a high priority for me.

Thank you "k" for the email you sent today, that reminded me that the example we can set for our children is to learn from our stupidity and make better decisions in the future. As much as I would love to show my children the perfect relationship, there is no such thing, and they need to know that we're human and we're gonna make mistakes.

T and I both feel that this relationship was 'meant to be' and that God (our Higher Power) has led us to this point, but not before testing our true strength and faith in Him and ourselves. We know that this is going to be tough - nothing worth having is free or easy - but we both feel that with a LOT of patience, understanding, trust, and love - this can be something incredible.

And yes, from time to time we will screw it up - but we learn from our mistakes and grow stronger minute by minute, day by day.