A Little About Me

Brent called me this afternoon! I was so excited to talk to him that when he started to list off some things for me to send him I decided I better start taking some notes....and promptly hung up on him less than 2 minutes into the call! I burst into tears & Dade asked me why I was "all sniffly." I explained my mistake, which had him tearing up also.

Turns out I had no reason to cry. Brent called his parents (which I am SO glad he did) and then called me right back. :D We talked for about 30 minutes about nothing & everything. I'm still at the point where just hearing his voice makes my eyes start "leaking." But, I am so grateful & realize how lucky I am to get to hear it so often. So, people may ask what he had to say, and honestly, other than the few things he asked me to do for him, I'm not quite sure. His random thoughts blog today is much like a transcript of our conversations. Brent has often said that one of the main reasons he knew we'd make it is because we are just like his parents-best friends who can stay up til the wee hours of the morning just chatting, even after 30+ years of marriage. I do know that he sounds well & is really enjoying his job. He's learning to enjoy the small things in life & has found that some of the things he really thought he'd miss (like driving our new Infiniti) are really things he hasn't thought much about. He's found a longer route to run & is enjoying this physical activity.

One thing that we discussed was how widespread our blogs have become. We really thought nobody besides our immediate family would be interested in our musings. We are very happy to hear that so many people enjoy them. Having said that, we realize that a lot of people really do not know "us" or our history. To many I am "Brent's wife" & Brent is "Steve & Jean's son." So we are each going to write a little bio of ourselves.

I was born & raised in a town of 900 people. Hopedale is in Tazewell County, so I'm still close to home. I was very shy & always had my nose in a book. ALWAYS! My mom loves to tell the story of when I was reading at recess & had to get stiches because of a runaway matchbox car that ramped & hit me in my hairline. I always quipped that if I hadn't been looking down it would've hit me in the eye. I definately would not initiate a conversation & more than likely would ignore someone trying to start one with me. I guess merely shy isn't the right word. I was PETRIFIED of people & their opinions of me. That's why most people who knew me way back when can not believe that I work as a Deputy Sheriff.

Until my preteen years I lived with both my parents, my sister, Jane (3 years younger), & brother, Rafe (6 years younger). Then my parents, thankfully, got a divorce. This was the very slow start of me learning that it was ok to be me. My father was a practicing alcoholic & abuser. Though he is now in recovery, for many years, I choose not to have him in my life. It is a conscious choice on my part to not have my children exposed to such a negative person. Reconciliations have been tried over the years, but I finally made the decision that life is too short to surround myself with anything but the most loving & caring people.

After the divorce mom & us kids moved in with my Granny & Pa. Mom still lives there & all of us have been back at least once, with our children. The Gs, as they were dubbed while I was in high school, may as well have been my parents, too. My mom is wonderful, but they helped to make a home for us. I currently have 7 cousins ranging from 35 to 3. Obviously, a few of us have children ourselves. I tell you this because, unlike a lot of families, we have always been very close. A few of my younger cousins are more like nieces & nephews to me. I grew up in a time where every Sunday was a family dinner for at least 13. I still have a tough time not cooking for an army because you never knew who was going to stop by the Gs for dinner on any given night.

Whew, well there's way too much information about me! Don't want to put you to sleep, so I'll finish up another time. I have to warn you in advance though, Micca: The Sequel isn't much more exciting. LOL