A Post About Me

Too often I get caught up in parenting my two babies and beautiful step-daughter that I forget to take a step back and remember who I am.  So today I feel like sharing a bit about the woman behind the "Momma" title - a glimpse into what makes me tick, what makes me, well, me.

I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, in a small town that boasts a population of barely 1,600, where the stars shine bright and the crickets sing you to sleep.  Set in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, it wasn't uncommon to run barefoot through the yard or to go camping out in the woods.  We lived a dirt poor childhood - there was food on the table and a roof above our heads, but not much more than that.  

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My parents divorced when I was too young to object, and my dad lived 800 miles away in Illinois.  Every summer I spent a month up north, loving every minute of it.  You see, I was the third kid out of four living in a rusty tin can trailer full of screaming and drama.  When I was with my dad, however, I was an only child who was able to speak freely and feel important.

Then I got older.  Time got away from me and I was no longer a child, but an adult-in-training - trying to work and save money while going to high school.  I was finally able to have everything I needed and wanted and still put money aside.  I met my first boyfriend, broke his heart... then did it again to the next one.  I was a confident, beautiful young woman who had everything going for her.  I had plans.  I was going to go to college straight out of high school for genetics - the science nerd that I was wanted nothing more than to work in a lab and cure diseases.  

But then life happened.  High school ended, my dad got sick - I moved up to Illinois to take care of him and ended up dating a wonderful man from back home.  My daddy passed away and I fell into a deep chasm of hopelessness and despair - I was homeless, father-less, and had no idea what to do.  An amazing friend let me stay with her for a couple of months while I tried to heal, and then I moved back to NC to live with my boyfriend.  Shortly after settling in our new apartment, we got pregnant and had a beautiful baby boy.  It was my son who helped pull me out of my depression and begin to live again.

Two years later, I found out I was pregnant with our second child and realized it was time to make some goals and become that person I always planned on being.  I was 6 months pregnant when I enrolled in college.  Now, a year later, I am still working my way through college despite the financial struggles and the late nights studying long after the babies have gone to bed.  I will finish school, and I will be a parent that my little ones are proud to call their Momma.

Loyal. Humble. Caring. Not afraid to admit when a mistake is made. Me.