"You should write a blog". I hear this from time to time, but I have to wonder, what exactly does one write about, to catch and hopefully keep, the interest of, well, anyone? That's a damn good question.
So today is the day, the day I write something, and send it out there, to either be read or not, but either way, it's happening.
I am a strange duck, or so I'm told. I don't really fit a mold, I am not on a specific side, I am unique in that I don't follow a crowd, or believe in things just because my friends, or society believes in them. But getting to this point has been quite the journey. I suppose this is the "getting to know you" phase of our relationship, huh? Ok, here goes:
I was born and raised in central Indiana. I have two older brothers, and my parents divorced when I was 11, technically, my mom left, but that's neither here nor there, at this point. My dad raised me, and he is, and will always be, the number one dude in my life. I still reside about 45 minutes from my childhood home, with my other half, aka boyfriend, Chance. I am what some young turds call "middle aged", at 41. I played every sport I could, during my youth, soccer, basketball, volleyball, track, barrel racing, golf, etc. I was a sports junkie, to say the least. I won 10 varsity letters in high school and was looked at, to continue both, basketball and softball, in college, but I passed. I was BEAT UP, and figured that if I had no interest in the actual schoolwork part of the college experience, I knew I would be in trouble.
So fast forward in to my early twenties, I married and instantly regretted it. I stayed in a physically and verbally abusive marriage for 11 years. He was older, by quite a bit, I was young and dumb, thinking I could change him. Yeah, not so much. I divorced (escaped) at 35 years of age. My twenties and half of my thirties were gone, along with every ounce of self esteem and confidence, I once had. What had happened to this strong, athletic, young woman who was afraid of virtually nothing? I had become anxious, a heavier weight than I had ever been, afraid of most all social situations, and had no clue who I was anymore.
I dated a kid I went to school with, back in the day, not long after divorcing. Mistake, once again. It was OK, there was companionship, but it was his family I loved, not him. He did get me involved in a small town church, and I made some amazing friendships there, so there was a bright side to an otherwise boring relationship. We split, which was fine, because I was ready to be alone for a while.
Several months later, I met Chance, on, of all things, a dating website. Yeah, that really happened. We hit it off, via many hours of long, phone conversations then after a few weeks, we decided to meet in person. Here we are, 6 years later, still going strong. I also gained an amazing bonus kid in this relationship, who I love like she was my own. Kids were never part of my plan, but neither was getting the crap knocked out of me for most of my twenties and thirties, so there's that.
I'll be 42 in June, I don't drink alcohol, I try to eat more healthy than not, but Chick-fil-a and Reece's cups are my weaknesses, I am an Arborist, as well as, a Horticulturist (plant geek), I became a deer hunter at age 36, I am currently learning how to turkey hunt, I am an avid angler, a new supporter of all things public lands, I like dogs more than most people, I started running two years ago after a re-aggravated shoulder injury ended my Crossfit adventure, I just ran my very first half marathon on May 5th of this year, I have very few friends, due to the whole "socializing" thing, I have short hair and absolutely don't care, I have had 4 knee surgeries, two shoulder surgeries, I suffer from chronic myofascial pain disorder, anxiety, and I am opinionated AF, according to my boyfriend's dad. That is the speed round version stats.
That is me, and an overview of my crazy journey to this point. Many stories to tell, that will certainly relate back to more specific details of my past, which I will hit on regularly in this blog, down the road.
I want to put my story out there, because there is a small chance, that something I say can help someone in some way, or fashion. Maybe I can get someone to leave their abuser, maybe I can get another woman interested in hunting, or maybe I can encourage someone to start running because running really doesn't suck as bad as it sounds (OK, it does suck, but the rewards are so worth it, think Reece's cups). So join me, this average, middle aged, washed-up athlete, who is discovering that life in my forties, is turning out to be the most kick ass time of my life......so far.
Stay tuned,
Cindy
No comments:
Post a Comment