Starting Over

Hello, my dear friends.  Finally, I have created a new blog site.  A fresh start with a new title and new format, with the same sharing and storytelling about what is going on in my life.  As most of you know, my life was interrupted this year with getting divorced. Getting divorced is hard.  Harder than anything I have ever done. The kind of hard that aches down in your soul and bones and you don’t know if your heart will ever stop hurting.  Fortunately, if you survive getting divorced, being divorced is much less hard. Your heart starts hurting a little bit less on some days.  I actually think I am moving toward healing because I am desperately missing writing and sharing.  I think that is a good sign, so let's get back to it.

Let's start by saying goodbye to Simply Writing Out Loud.  It was my pride and joy and I loved all the wonderful stories and memories I shared about my family.  I thought briefly about continuing to write there, but it just seems like that story is over and I need to gently close the door and start over.  I am researching how to print a blog so that I can preserve those memories and stories forever, but I will not be posting there again.

My new blog title is Bourbon and Blowpops....two comforting vices I used to cope while going through my divorce.  It was so catchy that some of my girlfriends suggested I design a t-shirt to wear with a Bourbon and Blowpops logo when I was in the thick of the storm.  And it was a storm. The likes of which I could not have prepared for, nor one I would ever want to walk through again.  But, I survived.  Although my deep, profound, desperate reliance on God was really what saved me, bourbon and blowpops played a part and the title just makes me smile.  I want nothing more than to be authentic and genuine and real and in my life and during this time of personal crisis I held on to God and my short glass of bourbon and a watermelon blowpop.

Now, let's jump in with some of the deep, moving, life events I have felt a burning desire to share.

Cooper is a giant now and sits on people, even when they do not want him to.  He is the worst dog ever.  And, I love him.

My other boys (the two legged ones) are still the light of my life AND they do not sit on people that do not want to be sat on.  Already a huge improvement over their hairy four legged brother.

The latest on them......

Harry only has one more semester of college remaining.  How stupid is that?  I will tell you how stupid it is.  VERY.  Very, very stupid.  How did the last four years go by so fast?  He is home a solid month for Christmas and his mother could not be happier.  I love the thoughtful conversations, laughs, cooking his favorite things and even doing his laundry. My heart is never more content than when I wake up in the morning and remember that both my boys are sleeping in my house.  It is the best.  We have played Clue, Yahtzee, watched movies, fought with the dog and just hung out doing a whole lot of nothing.  Also, he is wearing this hat all the time.  Hmmm.

Chip just wrapped up football season and is rolling into finals week for the first semester of his sophomore year.  Pre-AP Chemistry is kicking his butt, but it is almost over!  Chip has also been wrestling with a new epilepsy diagnosis, but we have a pretty good handle on the new medication and feel good about the future.  I mean look at this kid's smile...of course the future is bright!

That is all for now.

I am going to post this before I let another day go by.

I am happy to be back.

I have missed writing.

I have missed the scrapbook of my regular days and my special occasions.

Let's hope this is the first of many.