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Monday, January 10, 2011

Hello 2011!

And she's back. So I realized today at work, it's really 2011. I think it takes me a week of typing dates and communicating it for it to actually sink in...there are still 354 days for life to change in 2011 and trust me it will.

As I reflect on the last several years of life, I think about where I've been and how much I've accomplished and better yet where I want to go. I think I want my blog to take a new path this year but before I talk about that new path I guess I need to cover some of the past. Those of you whom I call friend, already know so much of this, but for those of you just finding my blog let me bring you up to speed: I am crazy (but in a good way hence the title of my blog) and several years ago I wondered through the darkest valley I'd been through this far in life: it's called Divorce. I blogged a lot about starting over and being a single mom and how completely and totally terrifying it was.. I call 2008 the "rip cord" year. I turned my life and my son's upside down on shear faith that once I lept and pulled the rip cord that we'd land in a better place and we did.

When I started 2009 I'd met someone... he was dubbed Marketing Boy for the purposes of this blog and to protect the innocent. I've blogged a lot about our relationship and our story...I got a new job and started finding my way. I call 2009 the Recovery Year...

In 2010, Marketing Boy and I embarked on a whole new kind of journey: we sold both of our houses..we got married... and because we're both divorced we wanted to make sure it stuck, so we got married not once..but twice (just to be on the safe side) We bought a house, and we learned in August that we would add another baby to our brood. I'm dubbing 2010 the Moving On/Building the Foundation Year.

Right now I'm affectionately looking at 2011 as the "Holy Crap" year.. and I'm at peace. Our son (God willing) will be born in April. We are still not at a place where the blending of the proverbial "His" and "Mine" child situation is super easy so adding "ours" seemed like a brilliant idea. Both of our careers (like most of America) are somewhat questionable.. so we have three soon to be four kids, a whole lot of Faith that God never gives us more than we can handle, and each other. "Holy Crap?" you ain't never lying. As in "Holy Crap" I hope the foundation is sturdy enough to hold up the dreams of all of these kids, a new marriage and questionable careers??" My prayer time and Jay's blood pressure have gone up infinitely since August. But we remain happy, still together, and hopeful that all the sacrifices we made financially, emotionally and logistically for our family in 2010 will start to pay off.

New Direction

So when I started this blog during the rip cord year, I did it mostly as a therapeutic outlet for my situation at the time. I never thought people would actually read it.. Many of my posts were also about my son, Cole, so it was sort of a place to keep all the notes I'd written about him. When I started receiving comments, the best ones, were generally letting me know I was doing ok at not being a bitter divorced chick. This made me think maybe there was something to all of this blogging stuff and in hind site, I remain proud of the way I handled it for Cole and myself. I've met bitter divorced chick since that time, and trust me when I say, I'm definitely not that stereotype.

As I think about the Holy Crap year, here's the truth.. Marketing Boy and I are in the midst of blending a family... and it's not easy. I don't suppose family and raising kids is ever easy, but we're getting through it and there are highs and lows. So as I muddle through my Holy Crap year- I will share the story because blended families are everywhere around us and they aren't always painted in the best light. We have remained dedicated to seeking a great deal of coaching to get this right and when a lot of divorced parents resort to bad mouthing the other parent, we've chosen a different path when it would certainly be easier to join in the mudslinging. So if I can share that story (or at least some of it) and it helps get me and my family through, well then I think that's the benefit of the social networking world we live in...maybe it'll give someone a laugh or someone out there will let me know they've been there too... only time will tell.

In the coming weeks, I'll be revamping my blog site, introducing you to some new characters, and Random Ramblings of a Crazy Red Head will be less about me and Cole "the solo mission" and more about my crazy blended family, new baby, and new marriage.

But Holy Crap it's 2011 and I have a feeling great things are going to start to happen.

Holla!

3 comments:

trish said...

Welcome back! Thanks for the update on your life. Congratulations!!

Cathy Hutchison said...

Yeah! You're back!!!

NancyJ said...

You're back...and still doing great at this "doing life" thing from the sound of it! You never cease to amaze me.