Picking Up

When I was coming to the realization that my marriage was ending, I discovered that I was really lonely. I had spent the majority of the previous 14 years slowly isolating myself from my friends. When we all graduated high school and scattered to the wind, we exchanged phone numbers and addresses and promised to always keep in touch.

I came down to really only having 2 good friends, and neither of them were people I had promised to keep in touch with. It didn't bother me so much then.. I had a job, I had a young child, I had a marriage and house to distract me.

Then Facebook came along, and I re-connected with a lot of the friends I had drifted from. We've all grown and changed, but in so many ways we've stayed the same. At our core, we're all pretty much the same people. Maybe I'm naive and completely off base, but in the last year, I have really enjoyed my friends again. I have come to believe that acquaintances may come and go, but true friends will be around to pick up wherever you left off no matter how much time has passed.

Let's Try This Again...

Ok, so I haven't been so great at this blogging thing. Over a year ago, I posted about a church service I went to about adversity. I still think about that service, and I would still rather be coffee.

2010 brought another year of big changes in my life. I didn't post about it, but at the end of 2009, I decided, and told my husband, that I couldn't be married to him anymore. We didn't hate each other, we just weren't right to be married to each other.

I did find a temp job that had started in February and lasted through April. After receiving an offer and asking if it was negotiable (because is was $5-8,000 lower than originally discussed) the offer was rescinded. Assholes.

I had been looking for an apartment and found one in the next town, but being without a job again was tough. I had some money saved, I had some good feedback on my resume, so in May, I took a huge gamble and moved out of the house I'd shared with my husband. Without a job. I worked a bit for a family business, and found myself a job that started on June 30th of last year. It doesn't pay enough, and I still help out the family business, but it's around the corner from where I live and it has good potential for growth.

I'm in a better school district for Sugarplum, my best friend watches her after school and my husband and I share 50/50 custody. She gets 2 days a week with each of us plus alternating weekends. It works out really well and she's thriving. The split household took a little bit of getting used to for her, but overall, she's done very well and we've remained very consistent with her schedule.

There were more changes in 2010 that I'll write more about later, but it's these events.. the job loss.. the move.. the new job.. the separation.. these stand out as some of the biggest risks I have ever taken. They are also the events that have brought me the most personal growth and for that, I will cherish them always.