High Five!

Well that was a long half decade! The good news is that seems to be all behind us now. I can't tell you what a relief it is to have enough money to not only pay our bills but pay them all on time.

After well over a year at both our new jobs my husband and I have finally scraped and scrounged our way back to the middle. It feels (and seems) incredible!

It's far from ideal. Tim is living and working a thousand miles away from home for a couple of years and I'm here with the kids and pups. With all we've been through, it seems a small price to pay. Of course that's easy for me to say,  still living at home and having our king size bed all to myself. The dogs sleep on his side of our bed now. He's sleeping on a twin size bed in a rented room he found to rent off Craigs List from a guy who's last name is Bundy. I told him I hoped his first name was Al not Ted.

I think God sent Tim to Texas for two years to have a vacation from me. God's pretty smart.

It got ugly for a while and (honestly admit) most of the ugly came from me most of the time. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but have a pretty sharp tongue with rapid fire comebacks that sometime (often) cut to the quick. Trust me, he needs about two years away from me.

He's been gone since late February but finally gets to come home for a week on July 25th.

Our kids are all excited and as a bonus he will get to meet his new grand daughter for the first time.

I'll be the first to admit (unless you ask him first) it's been nice to have a little time away from each other. Things were said in the heat of the moment (which happened to last five years) and needed to simply take a step (or thousand miles) away from each other and remember why we fell in love in the first place.

He was extremely handsome, honest, hard working and for some strange reason liked my bossy firecracker sometimes (often) cannon ball self. Almost three decades later, I'm still bossy and he's still honest, hard working but now totally a silver haired version of the man I married.

Maybe I'll highlight his hair for him when he comes home...sure works for me!

When the economy tanked over two decades later he suffered hit after hit in his field of logistics and trucking. After the second (absolutely) out of his control hit, the anger began to simmer. Two years later it began to boil. Then it all boiled over...and you women out there know what a mess that makes on your stove top.

Here's the thing. I'm a server and not bragging think am a pretty good one. People with money will always go out to eat...and they did.

Now we're finally on an equal playing field (albeit a thousand miles apart) but still together.

If you don't have bad times, how do you know when you have good times?

We are extremely fortunate and know the difference now.

Tim's still the one.

Much help from God, family and friends sure didn't hurt either. I have a lot to pay forward and look forward to it.

Til next time, COTTON