Life has a way of surprising you, disappointing you, confusing you, and sometimes delighting you. Time passes by in a blink of an eye during all of the great times, but inches by ever so slowly during the hard times. Right now, I am simultaneously in a great part and a hard part and time doesn't know what to do!
First and foremost, I am a mother and a wife. I have a 7 year old daughter named Ally and an almost 7 month old son named Aidan. I have been married to Erik for 10 years. Our story is an interesting one (at least to me, if no one else). When I was in college, a friend of mine was chatting with someone on the Internet and was considering meeting him in person. This is when the whole online dating scene was in its infancy and there was no such thing as match.com. There were almost daily newspaper articles of some poor girl who was dragged off to her untimely demise because she met some creepy old man on the internet pretending to be her Prince Charming. We were concerned for her and started talking to the guy ourselves and to his friends. One friend in particular stood out and I began talking to him on a regular basis. My friend ended up meeting her guy in person, but alas, love was illusive. She did, however, meet the guy I had been talking to and was convinced we were perfect for each other. The rest of that school year was spent trying to plan meetings that never panned out and talking to each other over the phone and internet. Then I graduated and we all lost touch. Fast forward three years and I was chatting again and ran across his name. We chatted, met in person, and have been together ever since. He is my love and my best friend. We've had our ups and downs, as all people do, but its been an enjoyable ride overall and I am looking forward to many more years together.
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to have children, but we had trouble. I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which keeps you from ovulating and endometriosis which causes scar tissue that prevents implantation. We went through 2 years of fertility treatments and was blessed with Ally. Fast forward almost 7 years and we were surprised with Aidan. No treatments, no trying, nothing. Just a faint blue line on a pregnancy test!
Ally is a wonderful, smart, strong-willed, energetic, and feisty child who is part tomboy and part girlie girl. She is a child who will play tea party with her princess dolls while wearing a tiara, ball gown costume and make up and then the next day, she is building the Starship Enterprise while wearing a darth vadar or stormstrooper costume. She will begin 2nd grade soon and she makes our life fun and exciting!
Aidan is laid back, friendly, and cuddly. He smiles and laughs all the time and is a very easy-going baby. Nothing really bothers him too much and he is content to play with his toys and his feet. He really only cries when he's hungry, sick, or tired and most of the time its more of a whine than a true cry. One thing is for sure. He ADORES his big sister and she adores him too. His eyes just dance when he sees her and she can get him to laugh, coo, and "talk" more than anyone. It is heartwarming to see the two of them together. She is so good with him too and will make a great Mommy one day!
Professionally, I am a teacher. Well, was a teacher, and hope to be a teacher again soon. I am currently unemployed. I was pink slipped last year and have yet to find a job for this school year with only 18 days left until school starts. I'm feeling very discouraged, but pray to God daily to show me where he wants me to spend my time next year. Until you are tenured, there is no such thing as job security and I'm a year away from being tenured.
My husband is a computer guru and most of the things he does go WAY above my head. Basically, he does digital phone service for companies (VOIP--Voice over IP).
Aside from my job search, the main part of my life right now that is on a downturn is my father. Last year, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma--kidney cancer. He had a mass in his kidney removed and 1/3 of his kidney along with it and it had spread to his lungs where several small masses were removed. He is currently on medication to try to stop the growth and so far, it has shrunk some of the spots and kept others from growing. We have asked the doctors not to give us a timeline because we want to focus on each day and not some date circled on a calendar somewhere. We are all aware of the prognosis looming in the distance, but choose not to focus on that. He is not yet dying of cancer. His is fighting it with all he's got and we will all continue to fight right along with him. We will continue to fight until Dad or God tells us otherwise. There is not a day that goes by that I do not pray that God heals his body and gives us the miracle we need.
As for why I'm writing a blog, I'm not really sure why, but I hope that it will be entertaining, or at least cathartic for me. My plans are to provide a view into the life of a teacher, mom, and wife through observations and ponderings. Now, all you have to do, is sit back and enjoy the ride.
