A Bittersweet Start to Summer

Wow, it seems like a lifetime since I’ve posted a message. There’s been so much going on, and I either didn’t have the time or I didn’t have the right heart to write about it.

After much prayer and soul searching, I decided that I needed to make the changes necessary to end my marriage. It was a terribly hard decision and one I had hoped I would never have to make. I think that it’s the best decision for future, but it’s really been a tough couple of months. Lafayette has been very hurt by my decision so I would ask for your prayers for him as well as Olivia and I. We were divorced on June 29th and Lafayette has moved out of the house.

Olivia seems to be taking the change very well. I am watching very closely for any signs of distress, and I’m sure they will come, but so far, she’s been very calm, asking the normal questions any child would ask…Is Daddy going to be OK? Are we going to move? Will I still see Daddy? I’m so grateful that she is handling the situation so well.

So in between the chaos that has been our life, we’ve tried to keep some sense of normalcy. In early May, Olivia's girl scout trip went to Springfield for "Girl Scout Day at the State Capitol". It was a great day seeing the sights and the girls got to meet Miss Illinois. The last month of school went by very quickly. Olivia’s class had a field trip to Wildlife Prairie Park and an end of the year party, and we had the school carnival. On the last day of school, Olivia received an award for perfect attendance for the entire school year AND she made the A-B honor roll!!! The first time this year. She was so excited!!! I can’t believe we’re already half way through the summer vacation. Olivia has spent one week at girl scout camp, and 2 weeks at the Riverplex daycamp. Last week we were on vacation. We took a girl scout bus trip to Six Flags in St Louis and had a lot of fun. The weather was gorgeous and the crowds were very low so we got to ride everything we wanted to ride. I can barely ride anything without getting sick, but our friend and troop helper Amanda came along and she and Olivia rode them all. Would you believe Olivia rode the Evel Knievel wooden coaster??? She didn’t want to go on it again, but she did ride it once! On Thursday, we took 8 of Olivia’s friends to see “Ice Age 3” for her birthday. 3-D movies are so cool!! Then we spent the weekend at the camper. It rained ALL DAY on the 4th, which was kind of a bummer. Roger and Emmy and Donald and my Dad and Lafayette all came out for lunch and birthday cake. The rain finally stopped at night and we were able to see some fireworks. Olivia got an Ipod Shuffle and a new bicycle (along with many other things) and announced that she had the best birthday ever!! I’m so glad that the recent changes in her life didn’t dampen her excitement or enjoyment of her birthday.

My life has also seen some changes. I mowed my own yard for the first time in 12 years!! (Good thing it’s a small yard!) Adjusting to being the only parent around full time will also take some getting used to. But the biggest change has been positive, there is so much less stress in my daily life. For that I am very thankful. My diabetes has remained manageable without medication so that is another positive thing.

The summer here so far has been wet and pretty warm after a cool start in May and early June. We’ve been able to camp quite a bit, and enjoy our time there. Olivia and I have seen lots of good movies, including “Up” and “Night at the Museum”. So far her music selections for her new Ipod have been limited. Lots of Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift.

I’ll try to do much better about taking time to post and hope to have only good things to report. Hope you all are enjoying your summer!!