So, here I am.
Then....
So much has happened in the last year. After my awful bout with the appendectomy I was ready for some chill times. That didn't quite happen.
Jan-June 2014-Planned our wedding, finding a dress took up so much time. I won't even tell you how many I ordered. The rest of it wasn't too bad. I spent lots of hours in the evening looking up stuff, ordering, creating the website, etc. Ben took over the week of the wedding to do the rest. I think the best planning part was buying all the wedding favors. We cleaned out the $1 toy section at Meijer. They have some great stuff.
April-FINALLY had an ablation. After several years of awful painful periods I finally did something to fix it. I haven't had an issue since. It's amazing.
May-Officially resigned my teaching in Indianapolis Public Schools and possibly forever. I just had enough. Enough of the stress. Jumping through hoops. Administrators that bully. And enough of turning into a robot instead of being a teacher. I went out with a bang. I wrote a very honest letter and sent it to the school board, superintendent, administration and our Attucks staff. Even though several more letters and many other resignations followed, things have not changed. At all.
June 21, 2014-I AM OFFICIALLY MARE-WEED.
The wedding was amazing. Friends and family hanging out for a week. Beautiful decorations done by my students on the deck of the Eagle Creek Sailing Club. We were not at all traditional and it as lovely. My brother Paul and his wife Wendy came into town, which just made the event for me. Everyone was so helpful and sweet. Watching all of my students come, talk, and dance gave me a wonderful feeling. It wouldn't have been the same without them there.
Mom did so well. She had fun dancing with Ben and giggling while he sang "Mother-In-Law" to her. She forgets about the wedding most of the time, but as soon as I remind her of Ben singing...she's right there.
July- We purchased THE BEAST. It has been and up and down battle with that mofo, but we LOVE it. We only had a few months to get it into shape for our Colorado trip. And that, my friend, is a whole new blog post.
August-HONEYMOON #1-TRIP TO NOLA!!
We packed our stuff and Walter and headed down to NOLA for a sweaty good time. We stayed most of the time with Jenny and Wheaties, but did take a couple of nights to ourselves at the wonderful Dauphine (thanks to Jenny for the hook-up). The salt water pool was much needed. I need to stop visiting NOLA in the summer. What is my problem? We saw lots of great music, ate AMAZING food, saw a Saints game, and even did a few tourist things. We hit a plantation, took a walk through a swamp and saw some gators, and shopped a little and even saw some Mardi Gras Indians. We didn't take many pictures, and I think I might be in one, but I can't find it.
September-HONEYMOON #2-COLORADO BABY!!
We started the trip with a few days at The Hill in Illinois for Uncle Dave's 90th birthday celebration. My first trip to the Hill. I am officially a Phelps now.
We took our time driving stayed overnight twice and eventually made it to Durango to see Randy, Erika, Samantha and Abigail. Good times. I had so much fun hanging with the girls.
Finally, a week after leaving Indy, we made it to our cabin. Quite the ride up the trail. A bit scary. And after several trips to a mechanic and quite a chunk of change later, we were able to get The Beast on Hancock Pass. The cabin was beautiful, the forest and mountains peaceful and the jeep treks quite the adventure. The dogs had a blast too. More on that trip later...lots of good stories.
After Colorado, Wheaties and Jenny convinced us to head to New Mexico for a few days of relaxation hanging' out in the hot springs and mud bath. It was LOVELY. We stayed in a quaint little motel down the road from the resort. It was so quiet and peaceful there. Sitting in a spring staring up at the stars....ahhhh.
Now......
After our return from Colorado I kind of collapsed. The last couple of years caught up with me and I became one with the couch/bed, watched a lot of movies, and slept. For the first time since I was 15 I was unemployed. I embraced my inner hermit and soaked up the laziness. The only downside has been the 15 pounds I have put on. Man, I didn't realize how much the walking I did at school really did affect my body. Damn.
I picked up a tutoring gig in November and spent the rest of the time trying to get my head back to a normal place. After all, what did I want to be when I grow up?
After several months as a hermit I still am not sure what I want to be when I grow up. BUT, I have realized it is something in Education. I am definitely not done yet. I have a great idea cooking up in my brain. I'll just use the word 'advocate' for now. Meanwhile, I am tutoring a great 6th grade girl and am about to land an Instructional Assistant position with Washington Township. Decent pay with my experience and get to work with kids, but not have all the responsibility and stress. That will give me the space to figure out the next step.
Mom is doing fine. She is about the same as she was a year ago. Stable, doesn't stress too much. And her last memory test was actually better. My goal is to spend more time with her. I haven't given her as much of me as she deserves since I have been all engrossed in my hermitness.
I am not sure what the future holds for me. I feel like I'm in a movie sometimes. The woman in her late 30s that quits her job and has no idea what to do. I can't even stick to a hobby. Which is why I think it is good for me to get back to writing. I spent most of my life taking care of my friends, family or a boyfriend. These past few years of having Ben, his family and my friends take care of me was strange. Sometimes I didn't accept the help very well. But, I think I have learned that I need to let it happen or ask for it when I need it. If I am not there yet, I know I am working on it.
I know that I typically do not handle set backs very well. That's nothing new. And I know that becoming a hermit wasn't exactly the best way to handle the abyss that is my future. But, it kind of felt good to just be selfish. These last few months are a perfect example of why I have never wanted children. I could never have binged watched so many TV shows if I had rugrats running around.
I will be back to the normal world again soon.
Maybe I can fit one more TV series in before I do...
