Getting to Know Me

So it seems a little background info on me would be an appropriate place to start. I'll try to keep it limited to the juicy info!

I was born and raised in Delaware until I was 16 years old. I know, I know- Dela-where? It was a good place to live, as I had good friends and a pool in our backyard. I don't remember too many particular details from my childhood. I remember my "boyfriend" giving me his mother's genuine diamond necklace in kindergarten, missing the 1st grade Valentine's party because I was sick and I remember my coke-bottle thick glasses being stolen in 2nd grade.

Family wise, I have mixed memories. My mother and father arguing about who was going to plan the vacations, who was going to discipline my sister and I, etc. On the other hand, I remember my father playing the guitar and singing us to sleep, my mother playing barbies with us. It seems to me our family was always tightly strung. It was no big suprise to me when my mother sat us down and announced they were divorcing. Apparently, this came out of nowhere for my father. I was around 12 years old and I believe in 6th grade. I wasn't sad about the divorce, I actually remember wondering what the hell took so long.

Several court ordered therapy sessions later, my sister and I were deemed "adjusted" to the divorce. Hmm, I could have saved us hundreds of dollars if they had listed to me say the same thing. Moving on, I conviced my mother we should move to Florida once I finished sophomore year of high school. We bribed my friends to help us pack, clean and paint the house and we sold it a few months later. My mother, sister and I took off for Florida the day school got out. We were off to a fresh start!

What happened once we arrived in Florida was a blur, as everything occured at warp speed. The week we settled in, my mother met a man at a family jazz concert and five months later they were married. We moved in with him and his 2o-somthing year old son into a three bedroom home. This is the point in the story where I would appreciate some pity. I had to share a room with my younger sister and had a whole new world of ridiculous rules enforced by my new stepfather. My sister adapted okay, but I was 16, I was headstrong and sure of who I was.

These new rules included no dating, no sleeping over anywhere and I couldn't talk to my best friends in Delware anymore. The explanation I received was we needed a "fresh start." I was perplexed and pissed to say the least. So I did what any normal teenager would do, I made friends, snuck around and had them cover for me. I barely survived high school living in that house, but I made it and recieved early acceptance into the local college down the road. This was my chance at freedom! My freedom was short-lived when I realized I had to live at home and still couldn't have a car. Try being a freshman in college and having you "dad" drop you off. Seriously, it was damaging my credibility!

My sophmore year I met the man who would later become my husband. I had to lie and sneak around to see him. Once my stepfather found out, he told me lies about his grades, his life, etc. Ugg, the drama that ensued. I was ordered to stop seeing him, and I said fine, it was the easiest way to survive in the house. Of course, I did not stop seeing him and we snuck around for several months. So four or five ulcers later, the lying and sneaking was catching up on me. I decided to tell my stepfather the truth and figure out the consequences. My consequence was to abide by his rules and have a cushy life, or get out. I packed all my belongings in 8 trashbags and had a friend come pick me up.

The rest is history. We both graduated college, tried living in a few cities and eventually landed in Texas. As one dramatic chapter of my life came to a close, I am now trying to manuever married life and a career. I know it's been a crazy ride and I know it's really only just the beginning!