Hello, I'm still here

Okay, so it has been a really, really long time since I have posted.  Darian is now in his second year of Pole Vault.  His current height is 7 feet. Just qualifying in most cases, but it is improvement.  Most importantly he still enjoys it.

Excuses:  I stopped writing when I realized that I was going to get divorced.  Divorce... something I never thought would be in my vocabulary.  It can be a taboo word.  I have avoided people who don't already know so that I don't have to see the look of pity in their eyes, or explain myself to them. 

Now, one year later I can say it.  I got divorced.  Although I don't recommend it as a principle, it is one of the best decisions that I have made in a long time.  There really are times when it is not only the best option, but the only acceptable option.  I am now a strong confident woman, and I know that I can do whatever I need to do in my life.   I have a nice smaller home, but big enough for all of our needs.  I have 2 great jobs, lots of friends and support.  I have great supportive kids and family members that will always be there for me when I need them, and I even get to go out on a date once in a while. (Okay, maybe it's more frequently)

Because I work 2 jobs, and have the kids on weekdays when homework and extracurricular activities eat up all of the spare time, I often feel like I'm missing out on personal time with my kids.  I don't get the weekend "down" time.  I miss out on the spontaneous picnic for Saturday lunch, or board games on Sunday because we have time to relax. 

With the help of a buddy-coach, I determined that I need "fun" with my kids in my life.  I am going to play with them more often. 

It started on Monday, when I was getting the kids started with homework, and suddenly realized that I needed to return a video before I got charged anymore for it.  I figured I could do that while they worked on homework.  Zach asked if he could come with me.  (He was missing me after spending the past 10 days with his Dad for Spring Break.)  When we got back we decided to go through the garage to make sure to put the empty water bottles into recycling.  I spotted the football by the recycling bins and tossed it to Zach.  Soon I put my purse down and went out into the alley that our garage backs up into, and just passed the football back and forth for about 1/2 hour.  At some point he through the ball and I caught it and he said "you are better than me", and I was able to point out to him that he knows how to throw the football better than me and that is why I was able to catch it.  He smiled and realized that that was probably true.  It just takes practice. We were both better at it by the time we were done playing.  We are going to do it again soon, but include more brothers.