Wow…..has it REALLY been September since I last blogged?  To those of you who were kind enough to read and follow and maybe even subscribe to my blog, I apologize profusely.  Over all, I’ve been on a pretty wicked drop…screaming in terror….picking up speed…..waiting, hoping, and praying for the fun to actually begin.  So much has happened, I don’t really know where to start, so I’ll just jump in somewhere.

September and October pretty much slid by in a blur.  Nothing special, treading water, marking time.  Getting my bills paid (thank You, Jesus!), and wondering how I was going to manage Thanksgiving, my daughter’s birthday (21 on November 29th!), and Christmas.  I know that love is not about spending money on people.  But it is nice to be able to spend some money on the people you love…especially during times where it’s pretty much expected.  And for me personally, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (family, food, and football!), and I like to show love for folks by cooking for them.  And my daughter just happens to be quite fond of my cooking, so I was hoping to do something special since she would be leaving in January to study abroad in London.  (I’ll talk more about that later.)

Only with God’s grace, I managed through the holidays – spiritually, emotionally, financially, physically…any “ly” you can think of, He provided.  And I am grateful.  I was able to get a small duck to cook for Thanksgiving.  (I wanted to get a goose, since that seems to be something “Brits” like to eat at Christmas, but OH MY GOODNESS!!  Have you priced a goose lately??)  And I was able to kick in some money to help my daughter get a new tattoo for her birthday.  (Maybe odd, I know, but that’s me and my daughter – y’all don’t know us like that.  ☺ )  And for Christmas, I was able to get a slightly larger TV for the living room, which meant I could give my daughter the one that was previously in there.  (And she was surprisingly VERY happy to get it.  It’s actually the first flat screen that’s been all hers.)  

Oh, yeah!  I suppose I need to back up a little bit and mention that I was able to borrow some money from my employer so I could purchase a BEAUTIFUL dining room set and living room couch so we wouldn’t have to sit and eat on the floor over the holidays!   (Anyone who has not had the chance to check out the Marketplace on Facebook, you REALLY need to! I’m just sayin’….)

So yeah, we made it through the holidays, all thanks to God’s providing hand.  My daughter and I even brought in the new year together drinking champagne (hey, she’s legal now), and playing chess.  Again, this is us; y’all don’t know us.  For odd little me and my odd little duck of a daughter, it was a pretty PERFECT evening.

Then, on January 5th, my daughter’s dad and I took her to Raleigh to have lunch and knock around town a little bit with her….before we put her on a plane and sent her to London for five months.  Oh.  My.  Lord……

In 47 and a half years of life, that is quite probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

However, as in all things, I know that God is in control, that He has her in the palm of His hand, and that this is part of His plan for her life.  (I think I’ll write a whole separate blog about her in London.  I think it’s worthy of it’s own space.)

So yeah, I’ll just let this be a brief (yeah, right) summary of life since I last blogged.  Spawned from this blog will be: 

  • My daughter in London (London, “eye” thank you.)
  • My foundation restored!  (What’s making it run?)
  • A bit of a health scare  (You must be this healthy to ride)

And that’s probably it.  Let me just end this one by first saying thank you for caring enough to read this far.  And I hope I’ve piqued your interest for the other ones I mentioned.  I will get them written just as soon as I can.  I really would like to get to the point that I can crank out one blog a week (at least), but I’ll try to get the aforementioned three out sooner than that.  Y’all please keep me in prayer that I will get on that track, and STAY on track and not jump the rails.

And as of now, I can honestly say I’m enjoying one of the coolest rides in my life that I’ve been blessed to experience!  Things are good.  Things are really good.  Am I still kinda broke?  Yep.  Am I still single?  Yep to that too.  But believe it or not, things are STILL really, really good.  And hopefully, you’ll stop back by so I can tell you more about it.  Please, feel free to subscribe to the blog, and you’ll get the notification as each new blog is posted.  Or you can just cruise back by at your leisure and see if I’ve stuck to my guns and actually gotten them written.  Until then, be blessed, and keep enjoying your own personal ride!