Well Now.

Hey.


Gosh... it's been a very, very long time since I've written in this space. Life felt so heavy that I just didn't feel like I had anything fun or positive to share.


So... what's different from October 2014, you may (or not!) wonder?


My job changed.... I was the credit and collections manager for a transport company and as you may recall, very stressed out. I had become physically sick from the stress, my hair was falling out and my stomach hurt all the time.


My boss left in January 2015 and a new guy came in. He seemed really nice at first, then he showed his true colours and brought a whole new level of expectation and stress. More reporting, learning, overtime, pressure.


My previous boss that had left in January came back for me in June and I left the transport company to join him at his company in North York. My commute was an average of 3 hours a day. Brutal. I was there for six months, then left to come home. Because....


Ian started his new job in December of 2015!!


What an answer to prayer!! Five long years. Looking back, I don't know how we made it. We almost didn't.


He's where he wants to be, and I am home where I want to be, and the world feels right again. I'll need to work some temp assignments every now and then as needed, but for the most part I will be a stay at home mom.


I love driving my teens to their schools, and then packing lunches and walking my littles to their bus. My days are filled with laundry and housework and visits with my mom or friends and errands.... Simple and quiet days.


The kids are doing so well.


Sam is in grade 11 and is in the top of his media arts program at the school he attends. He has a lovely girlfriend that he spends a lot of time with. She is very much like Sam and they get along very well. Hard to believe he will be 17 this summer.


Julie started high school this past fall and has settled right in. She doesn't love it, but she doesn't hate it either. Her grades are insanely good and we are so proud of her. Crazy smart in French and Science and Math.... She's so lovely, inside and out. Last month she turned 15.


Jordan is in grade 2 and doing so well. She reads at a grade 3 level, possibly higher. She won an award for consistently demonstrating the February virtue of respect. So, so proud of her. She turned 8 last month and will have her friend party this coming Sunday at the movie theatre to watch The Jungle Book.


Mattie started Junior Kindergarten this year and had a bit of a rough start. I was getting calls at work several times a week about him. The first call being on his first day, when they told me they lost him. Such drama! He was getting into trouble every day until finally they tested him. He's reading at a grade 2 level, and his math skills fall between first and second grade. He was bored! His teacher sends home grade 2 work and we work on it together. He also won the award for consistently demonstrating respect in February. He will be 5 in June.


We have left our church and we're in limbo right now. We were deeply hurt and betrayed by our previous pastor and his family, people we thought were friends. The whole situation was poorly handled by our church leadership and in order to protect ourselves from further hurt, we left. Jules and I attended a church a little further away for about five months but stopped going. Must get back on track with that.


Life is full and noisy, joyful and messy. But I feel grateful. As always, I am waiting for the other shoe to drop... I read something once that said we are either entering a storm, in the middle of a storm or coming out of a storm... I'd like to just be "storm free" for awhile!


I'm not sure when I'll be back... my blogging muscles are weak and I don't know if blogging is even a thing anymore. I guess I'll just see how I feel.


That's it for today...


~Kate