So there's that...

Wow, so much has happened since January, holy cow.
At the end of January I flew across the country to spend 3 weeks in Washington DC. I've been sort of assisting with this new program for the last two years, and it finally got the green light to branch out to other airports. Then the process was handicapped by the Collective Bargaining Agreement put in place by our new union (don't get me started on how much I disagree with this completely useless and counterproductive union) and this little thing you may have heard of called sequestration. All those hoops have pushed the official roll date back almost a year, but at least we got it into one more airport before things really got difficult. It was exhausting but rewarding.

3 weeks is a long time away from home btw. Good news is though...I got to see Tracy! I wasn't too far from her house and so we spent plenty of time hanging out together. It's hard to believe I hadn't seen her in 8 months, we haven't been apart that long since we met! It was beyond amazeballs.

When I came back I found out that while I was gone my mail was stolen and someone tried to cash a convenience check on a credit account. Ha, joke's on them, I have no available credit! 3 days later I was pickpocketed on the bus home and someone stole my phone, or as I often refer to it "The precious". I spent about a week believing that absolutely every person in the world is awful and hateful. I got over it.

So then I came back here and went crazy for about a month and then I got married.

Yeah, there are some people who might say this was a little soon. Those people don't really know me or him or the situation, so I don't care. If you had told me a year ago that I'd be in good, nay, fantastic, place now I would never have believed you, it seemed impossible. Even the skeptics in my life cannot maintain their stance once they've met him and seen us together. A dear, long time friend who was in attendance at the wedding said it was a real treat to finally see me happy. I was surprised and said that I wasn't aware I seemed unhappy before. A thoughtful look crossed her face and she said "Yeah, I wasn't either...but seeing what joy looks like on you really highlights the difference". There was SO MUCH love that day, not just in us and our deliciously geeky ceremony, but from the kids and our friends and the family members that could make it and the people who came that might as well be family. Heather flew in from San Antonio just to be there, and Tracy came from Virginia, not a short trip. Some people even drove 5 hours to be there and then turned around and drove 5 hours home afterward. I know really truly amazing people. I'm not sure how I got so lucky, but I'm not complaing that's for sure.

There was bad stuff too, I'm not going to lie. My new husband's ex-wife decided a couple of days before the wedding that she wouldn't allow his children to attend, even though clothing was purchased and plans had been made months in advance. Then the night before the wedding she emailed him to say she plans to move far far out of state and take the kids with her (and she wants him to finance it, but that's a different story). The venue also texted at 10 pm the night before to tell us they'd accidentally broken 4 of our 6 centerpiece vases. Ultimately we made the decision to just take a breath, not sweat the unimportant stuff, and deal with the big issues starting the day AFTER the wedding. I've really had to learn about identifying the things I can change and the things I can't, because getting frazzled over things I can't change has been an extremely fruitless endeavor . I'm still working on not worrying or stressing over things I can't can't change, but let's take it one step at a time...

Hello, my name is...

Chopped Liver.

I just found out that I'm being sent to DC for work for 3 whole weeks. Actually they asked for 4 weeks, but there's no way I could be away from my kids for so long. 3 weeks away from my life is going to be rough in itself. At least I'll have constant work to keep me busy during the day and too exhausted at night to feel lonely.
Anyhow, I was telling the kids I have to leave for work and their grandma is coming to stay with them. All they had to say when I told them was "Is Picklejar still going to come over for dinner while you're gone? We'd miss him if he didn't come over for 3 weeks".
Can you believe that?!
I was fixin to bust out the mom speech. You know, the one that starts "I carried you IN MY WOMB for 9 months..." but then I realized that it's actually a good thing they aren't entirely fixated on me and totally dependent upon me to make decisions anymore. For a long time after the split I couldn't hardly leave the room without one of them freaking out, so a little breathing room feels a lot more healthy.
A delightful side effect of work in DC...TRACY!! I cannot tell you how excited I am to see her and the red headed terrorists again, it feels like it's been forever. There are some other friends in the area I want to say hello to, but I plan to hop on the Metro every night after work and head to her house. And weekends are going to be crazeballs! I have it on good authority that we will even get a chance to go do something WITHOUT KIDS while I'm there! The excitement, it's too much, I need to sit down for a minute...
I've been working on a new training program for the government entity that employs me for almost 2 years now. Finally it has moved on to the next stage and we're introducing it at another airport. This airport is right by Headquarters, so our training classes are going to be closely monitored by big wigs and mucky mucks waaaaay up the food chain from me. The course itself is super involved to lead, 5 straight days of grinding, but with "super important people" watching our every move it will be even more intense. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally now, but I guess there's no telling how it will really go until I get there. All in all, just knowing that I finally get to see this program take off is indescribable. This is one of the most difficult tasks I've ever undertaken where work is concerned, and it's definitely the most rewarding. Just a couple more weeks...

Well color me shocked

My middle kid (Thing 2) got baptized this last weekend. Hard to believe that a year ago I had a kid who felt like he wanted to die because his world was falling apart. I'm not kidding, he once tried to run out in traffic. But now, especially since  he decided he's thrilled to have a stepdad in his future, he's returned to my happy, calm, exceptionally aware kid. You could feel the spirit and belief in the room when he made the choice to be baptized. His dad couldn't be there but he decided to have both grandfathers be a part of his special day. My dad baptized him, which was kind of a big deal since my dad wasn't a member when I was baptized, and my ex's father confirmed him. It was really, truly awesome to have them both be a part of his day.
The reeeeeeeally awkward part came from Thing 2 wanting my future dh (I shall hereafter call him Picklejar) to be at his special day too. Oh yeah, let's just get my formers in the same room as my future and all just spend a few hours hanging out together. Yikes. It's pretty messed up when my crazy parents and the Sister missionaries are Picklejar's comfort zone. My ex hasn't as yet discussed my impending nuptials with his family, so we pretty much just tried to avoid that side of the room so that we wouldn't ruin my son's big day. It almost worked too...
I swear, I only stepped out of the room for, like, 5 minutes. Somehow, in that short time, my former mother-in-law searched out Picklejar and introduced herself. As soon as he said his name she replied, "Oh yes, Thing 1 has mentioned you before". Bum bum bummmmm. Poor Picklejar, awkwarrrrrd.
Other than that, it all went beautifully, but, ya know, that was a pretty big thing.
Anyhow, later the former's left but my former brother and sister-in-law and the cousins were still there. I pulled my sister-in-law aside and filled her in and she even said they'd come to the wedding. And then she said something that really hit home...
My sister-in-law mentioned that a couple of years ago, at a family campout, all she could feel was a dark cloud around me. Now, she said, she feels a calm glow around me and the kids, and she can tell Picklejar is a good guy.She claims that she is honestly happy for all of us and wishes us the best. This was really the last thing I expected to be honest.
The bishop and the RS president both talked it out with me, and they feel good about where I'm going. The Sister missionaries frakkin love the guy and are happy for our family. Finally, we are almost at the beginning of our life together and everything seems to be coming together.
In the next installment of "As My World Rotates", the experience of breaking the news to coworkers, which was delightfully evil and fun.....