I'm back!
I know I've been missing in action here for a few weeks but I've been busy living life rather than writing about it. Now it's time for me to figure out how to do both because I really do love to write.
I'm still blissfully happy about almost everything in my life. One really great thing that happened a little over a week ago is that my mother was FINALLY approved for Medicaid so now she'll be able to stay in her long-term nursing home facility without the threat of being kicked out. I am so happy and relieved about that! It was a lot of work, filled with frustration but it finally got done.
My weekdays and weekends are filled with laughter and love, I come home to someone that wants to spend time with me, loves to cook for me, tries to appreciate what I cook for him (let's face it, cooking has never been my best skill and we have different tastes) and never walks out the door or ends a phone call without saying I love you. This means more to me than I can ever fully express. Y'all know how frustrating internet dating was for me but somehow, after all the frogs, I found a prince who never makes me question his commitment to our relationship or the future.
Work continues to be (mostly) fun and even on the days when it increases my stress level, I am grateful to have a workplace that's safe and consistent, grateful to continue to have a paycheck (paltry as it may be) and co-workers who delight me even from a distance. Our video staff meetings are fun every week and we all look forward to the day when we can meet in person again.
One sad thing that the pandemic has brought about is that I have to make decisions about my house that I never wanted to make. I've really tried to make it work but I just can't sustain the mortgage on my own anymore and I don't want to fall so far behind that they take it from me and I lose out on the equity I've been earning for 20 years so I've had to face the reality that I must put it on the market and hope someone wants to buy it quickly. It's going to hurt to say goodbye to it, I've tried so hard to keep it and I have no idea what I'm going to do with my stuff, more loss, but it's the only option I have right now. It's not a good or convenient option for any of us, I do realize that, but who could have foreseen these circumstances?
Luckily I have something wonderful in my life to distract me - I have a family. One thing I haven't mentioned is that Chris came with kids and they have accepted me into their world so that the 4 of us are a family unit...at least every other weekend. He hadn't planned on letting any woman meet them quickly, in fact, I think he thought 6 months of dating was the appropriate amount of time to wait...then he met me and that timeline went out the window. Neither of us have any regrets, though, and the kids seem happy.
From the first moment I met these two, we were best friends. They have my heart and my soul and I would protect them with my life. I'm not their mom but I couldn't love them more and I hope they are learning to love me too. I know we have a lot of fun together and I'm looking forward to celebrating birthdays and holidays and all the milestones of life together. They have given me something I was missing - a little family of my own.
They are my little goofballs, my adventure buddies, and the next time we get together they will be my sous chefs because we are going to bake cookies together which will be quite an adventure.
And here's the rest of the family!
