Surprise

Engaged! I am engaged to be married and I am so happy. To have a home of my own again I am thrilled. When Norman asked me if I would make a committment to him I waited several days before I answered. He says my family and I are doing a lot of 'firsts' with him. I am the 1st woman he has actually proposed to and I am the 1st woman that has made him wait till after we were married.

So with that said, we went and picked out rings, nothing fancy a very pretty bridal set small solitaire with diamonds surrounding it and the wedding band and then also a wide yellow gold band for both of us. We talked about it getting engaged and I told him I wanted him to propose, all my other husbands had, my first husband surprised me with a ring in a present. My second husband dropped down on one knee in front of his friends one night, and my third proposed while we were sitting in his car, it was pouring rain, he pulled out the ring and asked me, saying he would have done it outside but didn't think I would go for that! Well Norm enlisted the help of my daughter and of course she enlisted the help of her husband and children. Casey and I had gone out for a girls weekend and planned on coming back on Sunday. I thought Norm would be coming for Sunday dinner much later but when we arrived before noon he had already been there, he had flowers (a dozen pink roses) the girls and Jared made a glitter sign that said 'Marry Me' and when we walked in there roses scattered all over the floor. My immediate thought was uh oh, they made a mess and haven't had a chance to clean up. Then I looked to my right and standing in the small hallway were Norm, behind him the girls with the glitter sign and Jared with a camera! I yelled! Norm came walking toward me with the roses and getting down on one knee asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. Then he pulled the engagement ring from his pocket and all I could do was shake my head yes and smile at him. It was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.

Norman is a lot of firsts for me too. He constantly tells me how beautiful I am, that he loves me, how wonderful our life is and will be. I was that way with my other husbands, but never received it back (for the most part), and that used to make me very sad, I used to think I had done something wrong, why wasn't I worth the trouble of reciprocating the feelings I was giving? But now I am, he makes me feel like a kid, like I am truly the most important person, the most beautiful woman right here and now. I keep waiting for it to stop but I don't think it will he says it won't and I believe him.

I have a home of my own. Today we were talking on the phone and Norm has been taking boxes and small pieces of furniture to his house all most every week and I slipped and told him he had more of my 'crap' to take home, he laughed and said your right it is my home and always will be. After 18 months of being in limbo I am no longer. I have begun unpacking my boxes putting my things away. Things like all my bears that were in my curio cabinet, my china cups, my dolls, my books, my enormous shoe collection and of course clothes. The last to go of course will be my bedroom set and we will get that the weekend after we come back from Savannah, GA. We are leaving May 12th, I am so excited to start my new life with my new beloved.

My granddaughter Makenzie said it was weird that I was getting married again but she was excited for me to have such a cool place to live, a fun place for her and her siblings to come visit away from Mom & Dad. I am just as excited.

Wow

So this last week was the week to end all weeks, it truly was. After I moved in with my daughter I found the claim form for Robert's life insurance and I filled it out and mailed it in. That was a year ago January. The beginning of February I called them, the life insurance company had been trying to reach me they needed 1 more doctor's name so they could get his medical records, in order to satifsy the claim they had to have 3 doctors and go back 5 years. I gave them the information they needed. Last Monday I recieved a letter from the company they were going to pay the life insurance claim of $20,000 plus interest and 3 months of the premium the total amount came to $20,152.46. Can you imagine? After all this time finally! I couldn't believe it. The next day I found a slip of paper showing Robert had a 401k with ING Bank, it is around $400 but it is still found money. I am taking my family on vacation. We are going on a cruise! I have never been on a ship or to the Bahamas, why not? I am giddy inside! I am going to be able to do something great for my family. They have done so much for me, I wouldn't be here if it had not been for them. I am so grateful to have them.

When is it love?

When is it love? When do you know your in love? Is it when you can't wait to talk to that person on the phone? You can't wait to see that person, to hug them to kiss them? I saw him last night and now I can't wait to talk to him again. He makes me feel like a girl, I get all giddy inside and full of excitement. I moped around the house when I should be helping to clean house, put in resumes anything but checking my email every 20 minutes to see if he responded. Valentine's Day was probably one of the nicest I have ever had. We didn't go to a fancy resturant but I did get flowers and a darling card. So when is it love? I think it's love now. I do believe I am in love again. I know 'gasp' but it's true!

Living with my daughter is great but now I can't wait to start my life with this man. He is everything I have ever hoped for.

Thank you Norman for coming into my life.

So Far So Good

I think maybe I will start a job pretty soon. I have had several interviews (with different companies) as well as phone interivews. A company wants me to come to their open house after speaking with the General Manager. We will see what happens, I am hopeful as always. That's on the employment side of my life so far so good.

I met someone, I know everyone "gasp". His name is Norman, he is older than I am and lives about an hour and a half from here. I met him through a senior function. We officially had a lunch date last Sunday. We ate at Red Robins, then went to the park and sat on a bench looking at a pond filled with ducks and talked, and talked, and talked! He is sweet, attentive, caring and is so trying to whoo me. Casey thinks we are acting like school kids. Well it is very nice having someone pay so much attention to me, tell me I'm beautiful, and the other things we like to hear. I also know we do not know that much about one another. It has only been 2 weeks and he is not telling me he loves me (thank goodness) but I know he is close so I am putting him at arms length sometimes, I feel maybe we might be rushing things, and as much as I like him, like the attention I am not a school girl and this is not my first rodeo. He has a place on 6 1/2 acres he says its a small place but he owns it. Even tho he is so far away he insists on coming to pick me up which is very cool. But as we advance more in our relationship (if we do) then I want the opportunity to drive to his place. I like driving. On the part of advancing in our relationship I think maybe we might we just might. Scary right? yeah kind of but isn't that part of life. I have had lots of conversations with Norm about my husband (s), and trust me I am not ready to have #4!!! But besides Casey and her family I have no other friends here, not like I can't go out and make new friends. My gosh if I can drive by myself clear across country then I take this slow. Speaking of driving I wish I had more money so I could drive more, it's like I realized I can do this so heck why not? I would love to just pick up and go for a couple of days. Can't wait to start a job then I will have the money, go to Savannah, Charleston, back to Atlanta, drive up the coast. I can't wait. I feel like my life is just beginning and guess what this time I am in the pilot's seat!


Laying here watching a show on the Disney channel with my granddaughter (Mackenzie) and we are laughing so hard it's a great time. I am loving my life and all that I am and all that I have.

Here I am single again, really? Single and unemployed again, uck! But hey we learn to deal right? Right. Moving in with my daughter was I thought the only thing that would be doable at the time. Now I am actively and I mean dailey looking for a job. I have signed up for several job sites and just signed up at an agency. Hopefully this will generate something. I am hopeful, always have been. Looking at rentals in this area I can get a cute 2-3 bedroom with 1-2 baths and a yard for Jack! I love being with my grandkids this past 15 months have been very theraputic for me but now I know it is time to move on, move out, move up! Now I can't wait, have my own couch, my own dishes not that I will cook but it will all be mine again. I can never repay Casey and Jared for what they have done for me, words cannot express my gratitude, let's just say babysitting for life is a no-brainer! Hoping to meet new friends I started attending church but the women there are either really old (I'm only 58 not 78!) or really young, great if your a young Mom but not so great if your me. So I joined SeniorSingles looking for friends, we'll see. I am content to be with my family here and I am thankful to have them but I sure miss my other family and friends in California.

Where do we start?

I know we are born, that it takes a man and a woman (sperm & egg) to make a baby, that's not my question. My question has been and is now is there God? If there were Adam and Eve why is there such irrefutable evidence of the caveman? We know that he (& she) existed but to say there were 2 people just plopped down on this earth in the midst of a beautiful garden? I know I know, that's what faith is for, right? Ok. I guess that's my other question where did we start?

My life so far

Since Jan 2009 my life has changed so drastic way I never would have guessed in a million years I would end up in Fort Mill, South Carolina. After my mother in law Barbara Card passed away it was difficult to say the least. Dividing up her possessions to the brothers making sure it was all done evenly so there was no fighting over who got what. Tho in the end there was plenty of that later on. In February I had a total knee replacement surgery that went as well as could be expected but extremely painful. In May I went to so cal to see the kids and ended up in the hospital for 4 days from dehydration. Then in June back in the hospital for gallbladder surgery (which is why I was in the hospital in May!) Also in June we had a visit from Casey and her family and this was a very fun time for us (for me anyway). In August I went back to so cal for my youngest's son's wedding and we all had a blast, my ex-husband came out for the wedding and it was an enjoyable time together for all of us. Then on Oct 19, 2009 Robert died. I found out later it was a heart attack brought on by his diabetes and smoking. The house in a trust automatically went to the next brother and things got very sticky. But a dear friend had a lawyer that sent a stern letter stating I had a certain time frame to remove my possessions and vacate. The brother had sent a letter 2 days after the funeral saying I was to leave all the possessions in the house and vacate within 3 days. Not only did I not leave in 3 days I took 30 days to leave and I took my belongings as well. I arrived in so cal on Nov 17, 2009 and moved in with my daughter. Thinking I would be there just a short time I put my stuff in my son's garage, Casey's garage and the rest in storage. In May I finally got a job so I started saving and looking for a place to rent of my own, well I was turned down, it seemed I didn't make enough money. So I continued saving but in the meantime, my ex-husband found out his cancer had come back and died 2 months later. Then when I thought I might move out with one of my other kids I was laid-off my job! So when Casey and her family relocated to South Carolina they asked me to go with them I said 'sure' why not? I felt a fresh start was just what I was in need of. So here it is January 9, 2011 in a new town with new opportunities. Can't wait to see what is next.