Wow… It’s been a few years. I’m not even sure where we left off because I have a ton of drafts that I haven’t published. It is my goal to read back through them and publish those that are ready to be seen.. Thank you to everyone who continues to come back here even after my long gaps in writing.
I mean, what’s happened in the past few years? I’ve been promoted at work, I was a RN through Covid (never again), I’ve gotten all my babies graduated from high school, and even two of them through college.
All in all… Pretty solid work! That statement minimizes every detail of effort that it took to get our family to this point, but it would be 1000 page book to articulate how to run a large family, finish masters degrees, assist aging parents, afford life, eat healthy, exercise, and make a valiant attempt at keeping our own sanity (this will be a lifelong goal). But nonetheless, it is pretty solid work if I do say so.
We have a seven-year-old grandson, who has an endless energy and capacity for human connection. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone quite like him. And I’m not saying that because I’m biased, I honestly cannot recall meeting another human that’s similar to him. I really love that about him.
His mom, our oldest, is the most patient young mom I’ve ever seen. She affords him the space to be his authentic self. Watching her, makes me simultaneously proud and full of shame for the patience I lacked when I was her age. She’s doing an amazing job.
Our oldest son is finishing up his bachelors degree after obtaining two associates degrees. He was the most impacted in his development by Covid and the shutdown. He missed out on two years of interacting with his peers at the end of his high school time and freshman year of college. I hate that for him but he adapted well and hasn’t let anything stop him from obtaining his goals. He’s a deep empath and internal processor. It’s hard to know that something’s bothering him until he’s wearing it on his face, and typically by that point it’s really bad. He’s doing better at sharing his feelings and setting boundaries for himself with others. He is a people pleaser and he’s working on remaining a genuine, authentic person, without letting people walk all over him. It’s a delicate balance.
My stepson has graduated from college and is on the job hunt. I told you all before how much of a budgeter he is so of course he saved his money to give himself six months of no work and decompressing from school. He’s a planner and he’s very good at sticking to his plan!
My middle daughter is in college with two internships, on the dance team, and works two jobs. Her work ethic is unmatched. But her propensity to say yes to everything and then want to excel at it, is unrealistic. We’ve had some honest conversations about being able to say no, and not having to be the best at every single thing. Her brain is busy and she has a drive to feel productive, so we’ve been working on a realistic and healthy balance.
My youngest, who has Williams syndrome, well it’s her world and we’re all just living in it! Nothing has changed there. But we found a community of special needs families where we live which makes me feel that this is where we were meant to be. The things our daughter has access to are unmatched and would rival special needs communities in many areas of our nation, I’m sure. I’m always grateful for our special needs family and friends.
I’m not sure if I wrote about it before, but my best friend, Emma, passed away in 2017. She was a dog we rescued, but she was basically a human. You had to know her to understand. Shadow, our Akita, lived to be 13 years old. She died a fulfilled old lady.
We have two other dogs now, our three year-old mini Aussie doodle name named Roxie and our seven-year-old mini Aussie named Willie Two Moons. They keep us on our toes.
This is an extremely general update and lacks all the messy details that occurred in order to get our family to this point. However, those are separate stories for a different time. They will make their appearance when they’re supposed to.
In the meantime, it was good catching up. I’m going to be trying to write at least once a week going forward. It’s cathartic for me, in the most self-serving way, but if my random thoughts help anyone else feel less alone or more validated in their own life, then it was worth me sharing.
Until next time,
Amanda
blendedfirstfamily 