I begin Boot Camp for Life by telling you a little about myself as I believe it is important for you to know me and some of the experiences that have shaped the person I have become.
I used to call 1982 the year of my life because of the significant events that happened that year (mostly because of choices I had made). I was a senior in high school, got pregnant in January, married in March, turned 18 in April, graduated in June, and gave birth to my first child in October. That’s a lot for one year! The thing that stressed me out the most was telling my mother that I was pregnant, which by the way, my sister ended up doing because I just sat there and cried.
Eleven years later—three kids, full-time job, failing marriage—feeling like the world was caving in on me, I ended my marriage, moved to a new city with my children, and started a new job. A year and a half later I remarried and truly believed I was starting a new life (I hadn’t yet learned the lesson on how the old life follows you).
By 1995, at the ripe old age of 31, I had already dealt with growing up in a single parent home, teenage pregnancy, marital problems, divorce, second marriage, and a new blended family. My husband and I have dealt with a lot of challenges over the years, but we worked—sometimes fought—our way through them and just celebrated our 18th anniversary.
2010 surpassed 1982 for significant life events. In April, my husband and I made the decision to accept relocation to Colorado for his job with a move date in July. My mother was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer in May, my son and his wife lost their first baby boy in June, we moved in July, and I returned to Pennsylvania in August to be with my mother who died on September 6th. In one year, I lost my mother and a grandson, moved across country, became unemployed, and, for the first time in my adult life, I had no kids in the house.
The past two years have proven to be quite adventurous as well. I am now Co-founder and Director of Military Families Ministry which is a non-profit organization that supports service members and their families. I am also the author of Battles of the Heart: Boot Camp for Military Moms.
The lessons I will share with you on this blog are the result of my personal experiences with situations that I have gone through and, by the grace of God, learned from.
