It's Complicated

My life is somewhat simple, but… it is also complicated.  Let’s just say “I have experience” in general. I’m 51 years old…. yeah, I know.  I don’t believe it either.  But here I am… 51, like it or not.  I don’t feel 51, but the numbers do not lie.  Acceptance is a hard pill to swallow.  Here we are… a new decade in my life and new adventures.  This blog is one of those new adventures for me.  Although I’ve dabbled with blogging a little in the past, it’s only been that… dabbling.  I’m a “grown-up” now, so it’s time for me to be more serious about this.  With all of these years behind me I’m sure somewhere along the way I’ve learned a thing or two worth sharing, and since I’m not dead yet I’m still learning stuff that is probably worth sharing too.

I grew up in rural Michigan… the farmland part not the woodsy part although I’ve spent time in both.  My Mom (bless her) pretty much raised my brother and I on her own 5 days a week anyway, and my Dad (truck driver) was home on the weekends.  They shared 1 car between them and we lived 2 miles from the closest neighbor who had children our ages.  How my mother survived being away from civilization with two uncivilized children is beyond me , but she is saintly like that… and resourceful.  A lot of that has rubbed off on me.  I raised three boys pretty much on my own for their early years… I can proudly say they are all respectable adults, they still have all their limbs and digits… somehow we all survived.  so… yeah, I have some skills… or at least some insights and wisdom to share that someone, somewhere might find helpful in some small way.  I hope this blog can express that.

In 1998 I found myself in some self-inflicted unpleasant circumstances and I transplanted myself to Alabama.  Can anyone say culture shock?  It was quite a transition but that being said, you couldn’t drag me back to Michigan to live.  This is where it’s at.  In the South Baby!!!  People don’t say “You aren’t from around here are you?” to me any more.  I’ve assimilated well and talk with the same twang that the locals do.  Sure, I’ve still got a little different terminology, but my twang has it all covered now days and most folks can’t tell I wasn’t born here.  It’s good to be home.  ROLL TIDE!

My husband and I just celebrated 15 years together.  We are a blended family.  Between us we have 5 children (4 living) ranging from 25-40years old, and 9 grandchildren ranging from 2-18 years old.  Our children are spread across three different states.  It’s been quite interesting since my husband raised girls and I raised boys up until we blended this little family.  He got to experience first hand how different boys are as my youngest was 10 when we got married.  All I can say is God knew what he was doing by giving me boys… I could have never raised girls (hmmm…this sounds like a possible future blog post).  Things haven’t always been smooth sailing and we’ve had some challenges along the way, but we’re good,  God has blessed us and we are still together.

Not too long ago, one of my adult children moved back home… with a two year old.  Apparently the good Lord felt I missed a few lessons on parenthood so he blessed me with this little one for my “refresher course”.  It’s all good though.  We have a lot of fun and I find I have a lot more patience for grandchildren than I had for my own.  After all, aren’t grandchildren the reward for not killing your own?  We have a good time, but it’s not always easy.  In many ways I’ve been thrust back into those years of dealing with diapers, spills, stepping on toys in the middle of the night and all the other things that go with having little ones  (Thank goodness he’s still too little for Legos!).  His Papa and I are adjusting.  It’s great!

So all this being said I want this to be a blog other women can relate to no matter what season of life they find themselves in.  I’d like to throw in some homemaking skills, recipes, family relationships, holiday ideas and whatever else might get slung out of my brain and heart.  I hope you find the time you spend here helpful, fun and somewhere you’d like to share with your friends and visit again soon.