Yes, I got dumped. By my "best friend" of 18 years. The person who told me on my wedding day that she was happy that our kids would grow up together. I guess they did, for 4 years.
I am not really sure when it started exactly, probably about a year ago. I remember last summer she gave me a hard time because my husband wasn't working and that I "put up with too much"with my husband. I don't know how she can determine what I "put up" with, but she had it in her head and there was no changing her mind. To me, "putting up with" something means something is bothering me and I don't stand up for myself. But him not working didn't bother me because I didn't feel like he should have been working. I landed a job that paid me enough to support my family and let my husband stay home. I wanted my husband to stay home, he has a back injury and daily pain and this was something she couldn't understand. She had the same back surgery and she recovered. My husband injured his back and did not recover. She'd compare his pain to the pain of people she knew and still worked. It was like she did not approve of my husband not working even though I did.
The last time I saw her was about February. I remember we debated on a few things, one being my husband and the other was the fact that I did not send my son to pre-school (see post here). I don't know why she has/had a hard time with the fact that I was making decisions she didn't agree with and I certainly don't know why this would end our friendship. She never told me our friendship was over and neither did I, but I can take a hint. I spoke with her a few times over the phone, a few times over email and a few texts. In every one of those, she mentioned to me how busy she was. I didn't take it as a brush off until July. I sent her son a birthday card and gift because I never got an invite to any kind of party (which I have always been invited to all of her kids birthday parties). I received a Thank You card in the mail from her thanking me for the card and gift. There was no mention of any kind of party and at the end of the card it stated, "We've been so busy!". Ok, you are busy. So busy that you haven't been able to call me in the past 3 months? That's fine. I'll wait until you are not as busy. I am still waiting, now it's been 6 months. I gave up, I can take a hint. I've been dumped.
It's ok. My Mom reminded me that she was never that great of a friend anyway.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
No Pre-school? Read.
To those people who told me not sending my son to preschool was a mistake? My son DOES NOT have any behavior issues that disrupt class, in fact, he comes home with good behavior reports every week. He was also moved to 1st Grade reading, so on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he goes to the 1st Grade classroom for reading. So proud of my boy.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
No Pre-School?!? How Dare I?
A "friend" of mine said something to me that really struck a nerve. I am not sure if this was her way of telling me something without actually saying it. She said that there were 5 or 6 kids in her son's kindergarten class that "ruin it for the rest of the kids". She went on to tell me that these 5 or 6 kids are inhibiting the other children to learn because of their misbehavior because "they didn't go to pre-school so they don't know how to behave in a classroom". I couldn't help but think that this was her way of telling me I should have sent my son to pre-school. But I ask myself, how does she know those children who are misbehaving have not been to pre-school? Did you talk to all of their parents? Did the teacher tell you (which is totally against the law) or is this an assumption that you made? Maybe you came to this conclusion when you were speaking with other parents (or gossiping)?
First of all, pre-school is in no way required. I am sorry you chose to send your child to school early and I didn't. That was your choice and my choice was mine. Our two choices are different and that's ok in my book. You made your decision based on your child and your situation and I based my decision on my child and my situation. Maybe you chose pre-school so you could have a few hours of the day to yourself for some quiet time, or to get the shopping done. Maybe your child needs to learn his ABC's, counting or social skills with people other than family. There's nothing wrong with that. Does that mean one of us made the wrong decision? Absolutely not. But I think my "friend" thinks I did.
Here's why I made the decision I did.
I know I don't need to justify myself, but other people may feel like they are being criticized too and you are not alone.
First of all, pre-school is in no way required. I am sorry you chose to send your child to school early and I didn't. That was your choice and my choice was mine. Our two choices are different and that's ok in my book. You made your decision based on your child and your situation and I based my decision on my child and my situation. Maybe you chose pre-school so you could have a few hours of the day to yourself for some quiet time, or to get the shopping done. Maybe your child needs to learn his ABC's, counting or social skills with people other than family. There's nothing wrong with that. Does that mean one of us made the wrong decision? Absolutely not. But I think my "friend" thinks I did.
Here's why I made the decision I did.
- Pre-school is expensive. Not nearly as expensive as daycare, but still over $100/month. If I am going to be spending $100/month, why would I send my child to a place where he already knows the curriculum? He knows his ABC's, he can count well past 100, he's reading and writing, he's good at problem solving and has been to daycare so he is socialized even though he is an only child. We found that ABC Mouse is a great tool, we have my son do daily lessons and it costs $8/month. I know the computer/internet is not a replacement for school, but he spends an hour a day, he is in fact learning from it and he has fun doing it.
- He's a kid. Once he starts Kindergarten, he will be in school for the next 13 years. Why rush it by going to pre-school? Aren't there better things a kid can do and learn about the world by NOT being cooped up in a classroom?
- My husband is a stay at home Dad. Again, why send him to pre-school when his Dad can teach him. This gives them more time to spend together having fun while learning and letting my kid be a kid. Pre-school is not required, I ask myself, why would I send him to pre-school if I don't have to?
- My son is enrolled in sports, camps, and educational classes through the park district. He gets plenty of socialization. In fact, there are 2 camps he's in this summer that "prepare children for school".
I know I don't need to justify myself, but other people may feel like they are being criticized too and you are not alone.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Til Death Do Us Part
I have been reflecting a lot on my life lately. I'm turning 40 this year. My son just turned 5 and my husband and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary.
Ten years married to this man. TEN years! Our wedding day doesn't feel that long ago, but I guess that's because we went through hell and back to get where we are today. Almost seems like it should feel like forever ago, but it doesn't. Going through all the hard times we went through together just made us stronger. When we married we altered the vows slightly. Instead of two becoming one, we decided we wanted to stay two and just join paths. We wanted to maintain our individuality, we wanted to stay true to ourselves.
We took our vows seriously, but not too seriously. But we both knew that this wasn't temporary, that we were in it for the long haul. In the past 10 years, we have maintained faithful to each other, supported each other in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, we love and cherish and have no plans to change that until death do us part. We are in it for the long haul and we knew that when we made this commitment to each other. Many marriages don't experience all of these things, but in 10 short years, I can honestly say that we have experienced every single one of them together. The most important thing in marriage that's somehow not mentioned in vows is to trust one another. I cannot stress how important that is. when there's trust, you don't have to worry about betrayal and faithfulness because there's trust. You don't have to worry about what happens in sickness and in health, because there's trust. You don't have to worry about if they will be there in good times and bad, because there's trust. Vows are in no way questioned because there's trust. When the trust is gone, there's a problem. That doesn't mean it's forever, trust can come back, but it usually needs to be earned, and that can be a VERY tricky process.
I see people divorce all the time. People close to me and people not so close. I know what couples fight about, we've had our own fair share of fights, but we don't let them tear us apart. We still have trust. The people that divorce are the people who have likely broken a vow, have a lack of trust or have lost faith. The most recent marital problems I have seen lately are lack of faithfulness, lack of trust and lack of support. It makes me sad. One of these marriages lasted a mere 2 years while one of the others ended after 15 years.
Paul and I had the perfect recipe to come apart. After nearly 5 years of marriage, things were going good. We were both employed, not the greatest jobs mind you, but enough to get the bills paid and still be able to enjoy life. We bought a house together and had nice cars. There had already been some financial bumps in the road, but nothing major. In 2009, everything changed. My husband had an accident at work, a sofa fell on him when he was unloading a truck. After that, he was taken off work and a workman's comp case was opened for him. A month later we discovered I was pregnant. As the first few months of my pregnancy, our comfort zone diminished. His income was gone and replaced with a check that was 2/3 of his reported income. This did NOT include tips. Tips were a large part of his income, but since they were never reported, work comp does not compensate for that.
My husband was getting treatment for his back. He had 6 herniated discs. The doctor gave him injections for the pain, but they weren't working. In February of 2010, my husband underwent his first back surgery, a microdiscectomy. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. It was stressful, but I needed by husband back, we were about to have a baby. A month and a half later, we did have that baby, my son Jesse. We were expecting a healthy, happy, beautiful baby boy. On the day he was born, he shocked us. He was born with an unexpected cleft lip and palate. I was very uneducated about his condition and it devastated me. I don't think my husband had a chance to experience his own emotions because he was spending his energy keeping me afloat. In the months to follow, things were hard. We had to dismiss everything we knew about babies and learn again. We had to accept that our son had a facial difference. We had to visit doctors we never thought we'd need to see for his care. We had to learn how to feed him so he could thrive. We had to plan a surgery for him when he was 3 months old. We succeeded in these tasks.
During all this my husbands back wasn't any better. He had been suffering for many months. The next step for him was a double spinal fusion. This one was not going to be easy. He underwent the surgery, spent 4 days in the hospital and would be in a body cast for 3-4 months. This was literally the hardest time of my life. I had a new born baby who needed his own surgery, now this? It was an extremely trying time for me, but we managed to keep going. as my husband is barely healed from his surgery, we needed my son's cleft palate to be repaired. This was done when he was 10 1/2 months old, February 2011. His surgery was a success and life went on. Of course not without struggle. My husband needed physical therapy, my son needed speech therapy and I am pretty sure I needed therapy too, but I hardly had time for that. My husband then had 2 more surgeries to help manage his pain because at this point there was extensive nerve damage. He was also addicted to the opiates he's been taking for years. We still had many struggles ahead in regards to his condition.
Time went on and my job changed to part time. I picked up another job, as a waitress. I like this because I was able to spend more time with my son, but the bills were barely getting paid and eventually that came to an end when the restaurant closed down. I was able to find another part time job. Then my other job, the one that I'd had for 10 years, let me go in October of 2013. My income, that was supporting my family, was now gone. My job security, gone. I had the choice of letting this consume me, but I chose not to let it. I needed to be brave and fight to keep the roof over my family's heads and food in their bellies. I found another part time job and worked my butt off. Once again, it wasn't enough. We were barely getting by, bills were always late and it was just a matter of time before we'd lose everything. I got back on my horse and looked for something better. After several interviews, a few less than desirable job offers, it happened. The job I wanted and needed, for the income I needed and deserved. It took perseverance and determination, but it happened and I couldn't be happier.
Now here we are, my husband is a stay at home Dad and I am a working professional supporting my family. Sure, sometimes I'd rather be home with my son than sitting at this desk, but at least I know he's in good hands being raised by his Father instead of a day care provider. We are happy. My son is so incredible smart and full of life. My husband still has to manage his pain, but with the major hurdles in our past, his stress levels are down and his pain has decreased. He still has physical restrictions, but he can still be a great Dad and husband.
There were many times I lost hope. I thought this little black cloud was going to follow me around forever. I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I was sure that there never would be an end to our struggles. Paul's work comp case eventually closed (and not without a fight there too), I landed the idea job, my son graduated from Speech therapy and is starting Kindergarten in the Fall. We are caught up on bills, even bought a new car.
We couldn't have done all of this without each other. We stayed by each others sides even at the darkest of times. Instead of letting the bad things consume us and tear us apart, we instead let it bring us closer together. We never gave up. We stayed strong and brave with whatever life wanted to throw at us next.
Ten years married to this man. TEN years! Our wedding day doesn't feel that long ago, but I guess that's because we went through hell and back to get where we are today. Almost seems like it should feel like forever ago, but it doesn't. Going through all the hard times we went through together just made us stronger. When we married we altered the vows slightly. Instead of two becoming one, we decided we wanted to stay two and just join paths. We wanted to maintain our individuality, we wanted to stay true to ourselves.
We took our vows seriously, but not too seriously. But we both knew that this wasn't temporary, that we were in it for the long haul. In the past 10 years, we have maintained faithful to each other, supported each other in sickness and in health, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, we love and cherish and have no plans to change that until death do us part. We are in it for the long haul and we knew that when we made this commitment to each other. Many marriages don't experience all of these things, but in 10 short years, I can honestly say that we have experienced every single one of them together. The most important thing in marriage that's somehow not mentioned in vows is to trust one another. I cannot stress how important that is. when there's trust, you don't have to worry about betrayal and faithfulness because there's trust. You don't have to worry about what happens in sickness and in health, because there's trust. You don't have to worry about if they will be there in good times and bad, because there's trust. Vows are in no way questioned because there's trust. When the trust is gone, there's a problem. That doesn't mean it's forever, trust can come back, but it usually needs to be earned, and that can be a VERY tricky process.
I see people divorce all the time. People close to me and people not so close. I know what couples fight about, we've had our own fair share of fights, but we don't let them tear us apart. We still have trust. The people that divorce are the people who have likely broken a vow, have a lack of trust or have lost faith. The most recent marital problems I have seen lately are lack of faithfulness, lack of trust and lack of support. It makes me sad. One of these marriages lasted a mere 2 years while one of the others ended after 15 years.
Paul and I had the perfect recipe to come apart. After nearly 5 years of marriage, things were going good. We were both employed, not the greatest jobs mind you, but enough to get the bills paid and still be able to enjoy life. We bought a house together and had nice cars. There had already been some financial bumps in the road, but nothing major. In 2009, everything changed. My husband had an accident at work, a sofa fell on him when he was unloading a truck. After that, he was taken off work and a workman's comp case was opened for him. A month later we discovered I was pregnant. As the first few months of my pregnancy, our comfort zone diminished. His income was gone and replaced with a check that was 2/3 of his reported income. This did NOT include tips. Tips were a large part of his income, but since they were never reported, work comp does not compensate for that.
My husband was getting treatment for his back. He had 6 herniated discs. The doctor gave him injections for the pain, but they weren't working. In February of 2010, my husband underwent his first back surgery, a microdiscectomy. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. It was stressful, but I needed by husband back, we were about to have a baby. A month and a half later, we did have that baby, my son Jesse. We were expecting a healthy, happy, beautiful baby boy. On the day he was born, he shocked us. He was born with an unexpected cleft lip and palate. I was very uneducated about his condition and it devastated me. I don't think my husband had a chance to experience his own emotions because he was spending his energy keeping me afloat. In the months to follow, things were hard. We had to dismiss everything we knew about babies and learn again. We had to accept that our son had a facial difference. We had to visit doctors we never thought we'd need to see for his care. We had to learn how to feed him so he could thrive. We had to plan a surgery for him when he was 3 months old. We succeeded in these tasks.
During all this my husbands back wasn't any better. He had been suffering for many months. The next step for him was a double spinal fusion. This one was not going to be easy. He underwent the surgery, spent 4 days in the hospital and would be in a body cast for 3-4 months. This was literally the hardest time of my life. I had a new born baby who needed his own surgery, now this? It was an extremely trying time for me, but we managed to keep going. as my husband is barely healed from his surgery, we needed my son's cleft palate to be repaired. This was done when he was 10 1/2 months old, February 2011. His surgery was a success and life went on. Of course not without struggle. My husband needed physical therapy, my son needed speech therapy and I am pretty sure I needed therapy too, but I hardly had time for that. My husband then had 2 more surgeries to help manage his pain because at this point there was extensive nerve damage. He was also addicted to the opiates he's been taking for years. We still had many struggles ahead in regards to his condition.
Time went on and my job changed to part time. I picked up another job, as a waitress. I like this because I was able to spend more time with my son, but the bills were barely getting paid and eventually that came to an end when the restaurant closed down. I was able to find another part time job. Then my other job, the one that I'd had for 10 years, let me go in October of 2013. My income, that was supporting my family, was now gone. My job security, gone. I had the choice of letting this consume me, but I chose not to let it. I needed to be brave and fight to keep the roof over my family's heads and food in their bellies. I found another part time job and worked my butt off. Once again, it wasn't enough. We were barely getting by, bills were always late and it was just a matter of time before we'd lose everything. I got back on my horse and looked for something better. After several interviews, a few less than desirable job offers, it happened. The job I wanted and needed, for the income I needed and deserved. It took perseverance and determination, but it happened and I couldn't be happier.
Now here we are, my husband is a stay at home Dad and I am a working professional supporting my family. Sure, sometimes I'd rather be home with my son than sitting at this desk, but at least I know he's in good hands being raised by his Father instead of a day care provider. We are happy. My son is so incredible smart and full of life. My husband still has to manage his pain, but with the major hurdles in our past, his stress levels are down and his pain has decreased. He still has physical restrictions, but he can still be a great Dad and husband.
There were many times I lost hope. I thought this little black cloud was going to follow me around forever. I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, I was sure that there never would be an end to our struggles. Paul's work comp case eventually closed (and not without a fight there too), I landed the idea job, my son graduated from Speech therapy and is starting Kindergarten in the Fall. We are caught up on bills, even bought a new car.
We couldn't have done all of this without each other. We stayed by each others sides even at the darkest of times. Instead of letting the bad things consume us and tear us apart, we instead let it bring us closer together. We never gave up. We stayed strong and brave with whatever life wanted to throw at us next.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
The Glove
I have not posted in a while, but that's usually a good thing. I tend to post more when I need to vent or something is bothering me. I almost wish I could post the happy things, but sometimes I just want to keep them to myself.
I am posting today for both reasons, I had quite the range of emotions last night......
Jesse had his first t-ball practice at 6pm. He just turned 5 and is in the 5-6 year old T-Ball. Since he literally JUST turned 5, I am guessing he's one of the younger ones, but most of these kids have never played before on a team. I got home from work at 5pm, as usual. Thinking ahead I ask Jesse and Paul where his glove is. Last time I saw it was when I brought it in the house from the truck after the t-ball meeting last Thursday evening. Neither of them know where it is, so we all start looking. Our house isn't very big, so it didn't take long before we looked literally everywhere, we begin going back to places we've already looked. It's now 20 minutes to 6 and we need to leave in 5 minutes. I am about ready to run to Target for a new one and Paul is telling Jesse if he doesn't find it, no T-ball and he's taking the Wii away until next winter. Now I am getting upset, because I really don't think that's fair, but understand my husbands frustration and feeling the need to punish. by 5:45, I had officially given up looking. I am telling myself that I can talk Paul out of cancelling t-ball for Jesse. There's another practice on Friday, we can get him caught up. The kid just turned 5, kids can not be trusted at that age.
"I found it!" I hear my husband call from the other room. "Oh, where was it?"
"Under the sofa cushion."
I scan back through my memory of Thursday night, I recall my husband telling my son to sit on his glove so he can catch easier. He admits he put it under the couch cushion, but said he took it out and that Jesse must have put it back. I find this hard to believe. I think he's saying that so he's not the asshole (which now I am thinking he is). We leave for practice and arrive 10 minutes late. It wasn't an issue and I am happy t-ball isn't being taken away from my son. He's only 5 once and I don't want to take these things away from him. Taking the Wii is one thing, I am ok with that, but children need sports and other activities so they can be kids.
Practice started and I see my kid goofing off. Great. I have the class clown. I yell at him once from the sidelines and my husband reminds me to not be that parent. I back off and keep my mouth shut. I don't want to be that parent, so I welcomed the reminder. It becomes Jesse's turn to bat and I am telling myself, "Please listen to your coach and pay attention." Much to my surprise, he does..... then hits the ball out of the infield! What?!? Did that really just happen?? Yes, yes it did. The other parents on the sidelines are cheering. My heart is filled with pride. Next ball he misses. Then he hits another one! A pop up to the outfield, the parents all cheer again! The coach is letting every child get 2 hits, so this meant his turn is over. The coach puts him at short stop. The next 2 batters hit their balls directly to him. He fumbles a bit, but gets the ball over to first base. He starts goofing off again and now he's making all the parents laugh. Ok, I am glad he's amusing, I just hope this goofing off doesn't last. If he's not paying attention, the kid's gonna get hurt.
I am posting today for both reasons, I had quite the range of emotions last night......
Jesse had his first t-ball practice at 6pm. He just turned 5 and is in the 5-6 year old T-Ball. Since he literally JUST turned 5, I am guessing he's one of the younger ones, but most of these kids have never played before on a team. I got home from work at 5pm, as usual. Thinking ahead I ask Jesse and Paul where his glove is. Last time I saw it was when I brought it in the house from the truck after the t-ball meeting last Thursday evening. Neither of them know where it is, so we all start looking. Our house isn't very big, so it didn't take long before we looked literally everywhere, we begin going back to places we've already looked. It's now 20 minutes to 6 and we need to leave in 5 minutes. I am about ready to run to Target for a new one and Paul is telling Jesse if he doesn't find it, no T-ball and he's taking the Wii away until next winter. Now I am getting upset, because I really don't think that's fair, but understand my husbands frustration and feeling the need to punish. by 5:45, I had officially given up looking. I am telling myself that I can talk Paul out of cancelling t-ball for Jesse. There's another practice on Friday, we can get him caught up. The kid just turned 5, kids can not be trusted at that age.
"I found it!" I hear my husband call from the other room. "Oh, where was it?"
"Under the sofa cushion."
I scan back through my memory of Thursday night, I recall my husband telling my son to sit on his glove so he can catch easier. He admits he put it under the couch cushion, but said he took it out and that Jesse must have put it back. I find this hard to believe. I think he's saying that so he's not the asshole (which now I am thinking he is). We leave for practice and arrive 10 minutes late. It wasn't an issue and I am happy t-ball isn't being taken away from my son. He's only 5 once and I don't want to take these things away from him. Taking the Wii is one thing, I am ok with that, but children need sports and other activities so they can be kids.
Practice started and I see my kid goofing off. Great. I have the class clown. I yell at him once from the sidelines and my husband reminds me to not be that parent. I back off and keep my mouth shut. I don't want to be that parent, so I welcomed the reminder. It becomes Jesse's turn to bat and I am telling myself, "Please listen to your coach and pay attention." Much to my surprise, he does..... then hits the ball out of the infield! What?!? Did that really just happen?? Yes, yes it did. The other parents on the sidelines are cheering. My heart is filled with pride. Next ball he misses. Then he hits another one! A pop up to the outfield, the parents all cheer again! The coach is letting every child get 2 hits, so this meant his turn is over. The coach puts him at short stop. The next 2 batters hit their balls directly to him. He fumbles a bit, but gets the ball over to first base. He starts goofing off again and now he's making all the parents laugh. Ok, I am glad he's amusing, I just hope this goofing off doesn't last. If he's not paying attention, the kid's gonna get hurt.
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