New Year; New Me: New Opportunities to Grow

Well. once again, it has been ages since I have been on here, but it is my goal to become a more frequent blogger...if anyone cares! A lot has happened in my life, or should I say...changed in my life since the last blog that I posted. Not everything that has happened has turned out to be positive, but it has been a learning experience for me. I am figuring out how to move forward and rely on myself...and better "weed" my garden!

I turned 40 within the last year, and have really enjoyed this time in my life. I began running, I lost close to 25 pounds, and went through a divorce. My dad and were estranged for a period of time, but because of my divorce, I came to rely on my dad, and the healing process of our relationship took over.

My divorce was relatively painless, and my ex-husband and I have maintained a cordial relationship, mainly because of our daughter. I have seen many divorced couples become hateful, and use the children as weapons, but am glad to say that is not the case with us. I truly hope that my ex finds happiness in his future.

My brother and his wife welcomed the birth of their daughter, Allison Elaine during the past year. I was so excited to learn that they were expecting after ten years of marriage...and couldn't wait until the little doodle arrived! I was able to visit them for several weeks in June and got to spend some great one-on-one time with her!

Dad & I traveled to Yellowstone National Park, and I have to say that I was not expecting it to be as breathtakingly beautiful as it turned out to be. Old Faithful was better than anyone could have explained to me, and the herds of buffalo, and wild bears were amazing! I love nature, but now how an even deeper appreciation for our natural wonders!

The summer provided me with a number of opportunities to reconnect with friends from my past, and also brought me the courage to end abusive and/or disrespectful relationships with people from my past that I had been calling friends. I realized that I had been making excuses for these people and allowing them to behave badly and treat me with disrespect for most of my life. It hurt me deeply to let them go, but I have not looked back, and my life has become somewhat "drama-free." By letting go of some of the excess in my life, I was able to become closer than ever to some other great people...my friends Tammy, Julie, and Alison provided me with an unbelievable amount of support, and they will never know how much they helped me.

My daughter, KK, has been my source of consistency throughout not only the last year, but the past 18 years. We are on the downhill slide of her senior year, and she has grown into a wonderful, empowered young woman. I have loved being her mom, and can't wait to see what God has in store for her in the future! She has just received word that she has been accepted to LIM College, and will be moving to New York City in late summer to pursue a degree in Fashion Merchandising. This is going to be a huge adjustment for her, and an even bigger one for me. She has worked so hard for this opportunity, and I know that she is excited, and probably a little nervous, to begin the journey!

Well...that is a quick "catch up" on the past year, and like I said...hopefully I will be better about "keeping up."