I can’t remember the last time I took a moment to actually post anything on my blog. It’s been awhile..
And that’s okay.
A lot has happened over the months/year. I turned 50 and traveled to Salem & Boston with friends. I ended up with meningitis again, as well as pancreatitis. I had a second knee replacement, sold my house that I built and moved back to the family farm with Tim. I dealt with some really difficult people in Plains that wanted nothing more than for me to go back where I came from and I dealt with rumors and isolation. 2023 just about did me in.
I was pushed so hard by outside forces that I got super sick at the end of October with asthma related-bronchitis, that I stayed sick until December. Yes, my friends, it was THAT bad.
As for a positive, I opened a travel agency and sales were very good this year. Though now I’m looking at a sloooow creep to 2024, at least the year as a whole went well.
I’m standing now at a crossroads. Where do I go from here? How do I want to live my life? Who do I want on that journey with me?
My husband is still hanging in there with me, nine years later. Sure, we have our ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we love each other very much. My sweet baby boy, Dorian the German Shepherd, still brings me joy beyond words. My family is still hanging in there – Mom is attempting to fix her knees, Dad is attempting to keep kicking, and Heather is working and trying to live her best life. She has reconciled with my nephew (formally niece,) and all signs are pointing to good. (Yes, my Autumn is identifying as a male and now goes by Austen. Another adjustment.)
I’m still working at the city and handling tourism for the area. It’s been rough. Our community receives hotel/motel tax from Americus-area hotels. Those are the funds I operate from. Our board and city council decided to pull away from the county and call ourselves by our city name. We continue to promote the other attractions in the county, but the individual cities are responsible for promoting their own communities. One lady in Plains hit the roof and came after me with everything she had. She turned half the community against me by telling lies. Apparently, people believe that I said horrible things about her family and the community as a whole, (the same community I built a house in and was trying to become a part of.) None of it made any sense, but because she had some loyal cronies, I was left looking like the bad guy.
Though not all was lost – because the people in the city I work for knew better. This person even tried to have me removed from my job, and that didn’t work either. Then some of her friends started tagging me on FB and I got emails that said just horrible things about me. I was cyberbullied by adults and it was very difficult. I would choose to ignore it and one week later, they would try something else. All to no avail.
I still have my job. I’m excelling at it. They ended up looking foolish. The final straw was someone from my municipality went back and fabricated some lies and told this person I said that she and her sister had mental issues due to their father being an alcoholic. I then received a threatening text asking for the sisters and her to meet up with me to set me right.
All I responded with was: Please Stop Harassing Me.
And for now.. it’s quiet.
I’m tired. I fought a long, hard fight. It’s been 7 years down here and I have never felt accepted. Until I moved back to Preston, where I am welcomed with open arms.
My life has been anything but easy. I have worked hard my whole life. I’ve tried to create a solid, healthy home to grow old in. I hope, with God’s help, I can transition to the next chapter of my life with a new found hope and purpose.
Ready to go back on this journey with me?
Destination Unknown 