Everyone is Broken.......

.....some are just better at hiding it than others. Some of us are mended, some are not. And at this time of year, it shows.


"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
Plato
Greek author & philosopher in Athens (427 BC - 347 BC)


We were driving around the other day, running errands, putzing around as we call it. Everywhere was a memory, mostly bad. At this time of year, memories of holiday traditions come back like a flood. We have your basic empty nest now. Our 22 year old lives and works on the east coast. Our 20 year old has her own place here. Our 19 year old has tasted what it's like to be on his own and is working hard to get there again {currently with his mom}. And our youngest, my almost 18 year old, is with his father in KS.

Holiday traditions tend to revolve around our children. Staying up late wrapping their gifts. Putting their crazy toys together. Trying to hide their gifts. Getting their pictures taken with Santa. buying their Christmas outfits for those crazy pictures. Even at Thanksgiving we plan the meal around their likes. We drag out the tree or go pick one with our children. Maybe we go to a movie after the big meal, or watch the game with them. As they grow up and move away, these traditions slowly dwindle and fade. But when you get divorced, these changes happen a lot faster. Suddenly, traditions are ripped away from you and shattered like wine glasses thrown against the fireplace mantle. And everywhere you go, there is a memory of a once lovingly held tradition, now gone and perhaps outgrown.

It makes me wonder how many other sad, maybe angry people we encounter on our way at this time of year who may be experiencing a very similar type of thing. Everywhere they look there are happy couples, families, children ~ but all they have are tragic, shattered memories that burn their heart and soul like a fire. What we see is a tough exterior, a grouchy old man, a crabby lady, a surly teen - but what we don't see is the brokenness on the inside. Plato was so right. We are all fighting a hard battle, every day of our existence. At this 'most wonderful time of year' let's try to cut our fellow human beings some slack, for we do not know how hard their battle truly is.

Merry Christmas!

A post too good not to pass on

Making a Difference This Holiday Season from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures

Please read, enjoy and pass it on. Thanks!

~sheri

First Snow

Well, we are getting our first real snow of the season. Here is the scene outside the youth office:

The only people here, from left to right by vehicle are Rob, Chris, myself, and Matt. Why we are here, I don't really know... ;)

Oh, wait - I think I see someone else's car over there to the right. Probably the poor facilities guy who is trying to plow the parking lot.

Season's change, so do lives. Our lives have gone through quite an overhaul the last few years. The separation from Vance in Feb/Mar 2008 - divorce final Sep 2008. Becoming a single parent family. Ryan entering public school - and high school all at once. Me going back to work full time in retail, then leaving that in Jan 2009 to return to The Keene family as their nanny. Summer 2009 brought me back to part time nanny. And by Aug 2009 I was back in school finishing my last two semesters towards my Bachelors degree.

Wow!! Exciting, crazy, hectic and yes, stressful! We moved from the mobile home into a townhome about 6 miles away. It's nice, but I still don;t have everything unpacked and it's been over a year since we moved! I started working full time just two weeks after moving, so it's not been a real high priority... ;)

The Veteran's Administration is paying for my school - tuition, fees, books - the whole deal! It's through their vocational rehabilitation program. Since my epilepsy has gotten to the point where, ethically, I cannot be responsible for someone else's life (nursing, childcare), I qualified to be re-trained in something I can do that will not be affected by my disability (my epilepsy). I also just found out that I have enough eligibility time that they will send me to school for my Master's Degree, as long as I enroll in a program that completes in 1-2 years!! So, next Aug/Sep, I will be going to school for my Master's in Social Work! Simply Amazing!!

Ryan is having a bit of a hard time in school. We are going to go back to homeschool with extra curricular activities at his current high school. I'm enrolling him today in a private school that is run through the Christian Home Educators of Colorado. Then we just need to get some curriculum and get him going.....

Meanwhile back at the farm.... God has blessed me, us, with an amazing man! Kenn Waddell, from Colorado Springs. We met through a Christian online dating site. We are very similar in personality, likes/dislikes (except he doesn't like black olives, so sad! lol), theological beliefs, values, character traits and communication styles. He is very easygoing, he listens without judging, he believes all people have intrinsic value and worth. He feels that you earn respect, you do not demand it. He is loving and kind, funny and talented. I can talk to him about anything, and I do!

We have plans to go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving where he will meet my parents and siblings as well as my aunt and uncle who are Ryan's godparents. Than at Christmastime, we will travel to Cleveland, where Ryan and I will meet his father and siblings. We will also travel from there to Cincinnati to see my brother's family again and on to NH for him to meet my paternal family most of whom I have not seen in 17 years! I am soooo excited to go to NH!!!

Well, I guess this is a pretty good update for now. I will try to keep this more updated than I have been, but I make no promises. I am very active on Facebook. You can catch me there..... ;)

In His Hands,

sheri