Briarbabe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2013
- Messages
- 684
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Hey guys, it's been a good long while. I thought I'd poke my head in and say hello and let you know where I've been.
It's been nearly six months since my life was turned inside out and my mom passed away, all in one month and I can say with perfect clarity and honesty that I feel the ship has finally turned around. I am doing very well. My kiddos are doing very well. I have been doing some internal house keeping and letting go of old baggage as well as bad habits, etc. I am getting my proverbial crap together as it were.
I've been working as a barista at Barnes & Noble since April, but I recently got myself a very good job as the administrative support assistant in Donor Relations at Penn State. I start on August 1st and I couldn't be more excited. I am looking forward to a normal schedule again and a real chance for personal and professional growth. I will be sad to say good bye to the crew at the cafe as I made some wonderful friends there. However, it's time to move upward!
Last month I sat in an auditorium and cried myself to pieces as my daughter graduated from high school. I had no idea 18 years would go so fast and so slow all at once. It was a great day and also bittersweet as I know that she and I both wished my mother could have lived long enough to see that day. She is off to community college for two years before transferring into a four year school and getting her nursing degree. She has a good head on her shoulders and she's made some good decisions via schooling and her future. With my job at Penn State she has the chance to finish up down here and walk away with very little student debt.
My boys are both doing well. Switching schools and getting my little guy's adhd meds straightened out has been a huge help and he finished his kindergarten year as one of his teachers favorites and with two awards: most improved reader and most improved over all. I couldn't be prouder or happier. My wee littlest guy is in speech therapy and progressing amazingly. Each time I see him I'm amazed at how much easier he is to understand.
Letting go of the notion that "mom is best" and making the decision to step down as a full time parent has been the single hardest decision of my life, but I am seeing the fruit of that decision as these kids blossom in a much more stable environment. All of us are happier and healthier for it and I don't regret my decision for a moment.
As I mentioned, I am doing very well. The foundations of my life were shaken to their very core this winter and I can honestly say that 2013 (early 2014) was the hardest year of my life. It has forced me to take stock of where I was headed, let go of my past, and move forward. And forward I am moving. This new job at Penn State is just the beginning.
I think I mentioned getting my motorcycle license and my first motorcycle a while ago. I'm really enjoying it now. I've finally reached the point where it's actually fun and not terrifying. Of course I spent two entire months tearing that bike apart and going over it with a fine tooth comb, tuning it up before I actually got to ride again. Andy taught me an amazing amount as we worked on the bike. I learned so much and I'm eager to learn more. I smell a project bike in the future!
I picked up a little no name pipe at a flea market last month with the intent of cleaning it up. I finally got the chance to do so tonight and it cleaned up beautifully. I'm looking forward to my first smoke with it tomorrow. In the meantime I got thinking about all of you and the companionship I enjoyed here and decided I'd get my butt back over here. I hope all is well with you folks. I missed you.
It's been nearly six months since my life was turned inside out and my mom passed away, all in one month and I can say with perfect clarity and honesty that I feel the ship has finally turned around. I am doing very well. My kiddos are doing very well. I have been doing some internal house keeping and letting go of old baggage as well as bad habits, etc. I am getting my proverbial crap together as it were.
I've been working as a barista at Barnes & Noble since April, but I recently got myself a very good job as the administrative support assistant in Donor Relations at Penn State. I start on August 1st and I couldn't be more excited. I am looking forward to a normal schedule again and a real chance for personal and professional growth. I will be sad to say good bye to the crew at the cafe as I made some wonderful friends there. However, it's time to move upward!
Last month I sat in an auditorium and cried myself to pieces as my daughter graduated from high school. I had no idea 18 years would go so fast and so slow all at once. It was a great day and also bittersweet as I know that she and I both wished my mother could have lived long enough to see that day. She is off to community college for two years before transferring into a four year school and getting her nursing degree. She has a good head on her shoulders and she's made some good decisions via schooling and her future. With my job at Penn State she has the chance to finish up down here and walk away with very little student debt.
My boys are both doing well. Switching schools and getting my little guy's adhd meds straightened out has been a huge help and he finished his kindergarten year as one of his teachers favorites and with two awards: most improved reader and most improved over all. I couldn't be prouder or happier. My wee littlest guy is in speech therapy and progressing amazingly. Each time I see him I'm amazed at how much easier he is to understand.
Letting go of the notion that "mom is best" and making the decision to step down as a full time parent has been the single hardest decision of my life, but I am seeing the fruit of that decision as these kids blossom in a much more stable environment. All of us are happier and healthier for it and I don't regret my decision for a moment.
As I mentioned, I am doing very well. The foundations of my life were shaken to their very core this winter and I can honestly say that 2013 (early 2014) was the hardest year of my life. It has forced me to take stock of where I was headed, let go of my past, and move forward. And forward I am moving. This new job at Penn State is just the beginning.
I think I mentioned getting my motorcycle license and my first motorcycle a while ago. I'm really enjoying it now. I've finally reached the point where it's actually fun and not terrifying. Of course I spent two entire months tearing that bike apart and going over it with a fine tooth comb, tuning it up before I actually got to ride again. Andy taught me an amazing amount as we worked on the bike. I learned so much and I'm eager to learn more. I smell a project bike in the future!
I picked up a little no name pipe at a flea market last month with the intent of cleaning it up. I finally got the chance to do so tonight and it cleaned up beautifully. I'm looking forward to my first smoke with it tomorrow. In the meantime I got thinking about all of you and the companionship I enjoyed here and decided I'd get my butt back over here. I hope all is well with you folks. I missed you.
