The Cast
This is the place you go to see who, in my family, I am talking about.
The Immediate Family…
Hubby, Hubs, DH, Rick: My husband. We’ve been married 17 years and together for just shy of 20 years. He’s my soul mate and I am madly and truly in love with him. Sure we fight; what relationship doesn’t have it’s bumps and pot holes. We’ve had many ups and downs through the years but we’ve always managed to come out on top – together. He is almost always (99.9%) supportive in everything I do; even when he disagrees or when he thinks I’m being a dork. He never colors the truth or how he feels and almost always gives it to me (and the rest of the world) straight on and too the point. He’s blunt and usually he’s nowhere near “politically correct”. Sometimes that honesty and bluntness is hard to take and accept; especially if I’m emotional at that moment. But I do appreciate it as well because then I know right off the bat where he stands on a situation. We don’t always see eye to eye and often you can hear our argumentative banter on some trivial topic. But I know my husband loves me and our children very much. And truth be told I wouldn’t want him to be anything else…I love him for who and what he is.
Ashley, My Niece, The Rebel: My niece, on my husbands side. She’s 20. She’s like my daughter. My husband and I became her guardians and she moved in with us full-time when she was 10. Her mother passed away. She believes she knows it all and all “parents” are idiots. She’s moved out on her own and is doing her own thing these days. In September her first (And she says her ONLY) child turns 2 years old. I love my grandbaby she’s so adorable!
Dani, The Drama Queen, My Oldest Daughter: My oldest daughter Danielle. She’s 17 now… and is praying for the day she turns 18….and acts like she’s 35. Everything in her life is a drama of some kind. She can take any issue, no matter how small and insignificant, and make it worthy of the 10 o clock news; at least to her. Other then that she’s a good kid, most of the time, who just starting to spread out her wings. She’s strong willed and strives to exert her independence. She believes she can sweet talk us into doing whatever she wants, lol. She’s frequently disappointed, lol. She’s almost ready to get her license. She’s had her permit since last June (2009).
Nikki, My Baby Girl, My “Problem” Child(meant mostly jokingly): My youngest daughter Nichole. She’s 16 years old. As of this July 19th. She was my baby till her brother was born in 2003 and she still lets me know that occasionally. She was diagnosed with ADD and mild depression when she was 8 years old. And Bipolar when she was 11. She struggles at times, to maintain control of her behavior, maybe being a bit to hyper-side and sometimes losing her temper. Nikki has her good day and her bad days. But Nichole is the most loving and thoughtful child I’ve ever met in my entire life. She’s generous with everyone, almost to a fault at times. Most of the time she’s a happy child who has a huge smile spread across her face. And she just loves to find new adventures. She’s now entered the “Teens who can’t wait to 18″ club and thinks all parents are stupid. Recently she’s been drawn to hiding things and lying… it’s disappointing. But I try to remember most kids go through this phase. I can only keep telling her it’s unacceptable and hope she grows out of it.
Drew, BoogerButt, Lil Man, Sweet Baby Boy: My son Andrew. He’s my littlest and cutest. He’s 6 years old and he’s full of energy from sun up till sun down. I was blessed with a great group of kids and even more so that the last one was a boy! There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t laugh and smile at least a dozen times a day. He’s always doing or saying something that cracks me up. You’ll be hearing plenty about my lil rug rat.
Victoria, Tori, Pumpkin: My first grandchild. Ashley’s first child. She’s adorable and sweet. Everything a baby should be. She was born September 5th, 2008. She’s just now starting to really express her personality. She’ll be 2 years old in less than 4 months. Every time I see her I am filled with happiness and joy. She’s so much fun to play with and have around. And the best part is I can play with her, spoil her… and then send her home to mommy, lolol. I’m looking forward to all the new things she’s going to learn and discover. She’s only just begun!!
Nancy, Mother, Mom: My Mother. She is a strong woman who has many opinions and she’s not afraid to share them. She speaks her mind. She’s honest, dependable and trustworthy. No matter what has happened in my life…my mom has always been there. She’s that one constant that has never changed. She has always been one of my biggest supporters. Whenever I need to know that I’m not alone or that I’m not losing my mind…my mom is there to give me her hand, a hug and reassurance. And whenever I need a reality check she’s there with that as well. My mother is very important to me. I love you mom!
My Extended Family…
I have 3 close friends in my life and each one of them are very special too me. All three of our relationships are very different. They each bring something special to my life.
Lynn: is my best friend. Lynn is part of my family! In every sense of the word. We’ve been through so much together. Ups and Downs. We’ve known each other since I was 16 years old. We’ve been super close friends since I was 18. We’ve seen each other through all sorts of life’s adventures. We stood up in each other’s weddings; Her and her husband are the Godparents of my oldest daughter, Danielle. And Lynn is the inspiration behind my second daughters middle name. (Nichole Lynn). There is just so much we’ve shared over the last 15 years. I pray that her and I are friends till the very end. I may also mention her hubby Paul or her adorable daughter Kelcey. Kelcey is 10 years old now… Gosh wear does the time go?!
Without Lynn in my life it’s sad and lonely. I know this because I shut her out of my life. A time when I really needed her friendship the most, but instead I ran away from all the people who meant the most to me. And that time turned into almost 3 years of silence…3 years without my very best friend. Lynn and I have reconnected and I never want to lose that again!
Dani, The Flake, Wise One, Best Bud, BF: My friend Danielle. When we first met we instantly clicked. Literally. It was as if we had known each other for years and years. For Dani and I our friendship seems to flow very effortlessly. We do not judge each other. We don’t seem to have the same stresses and pressure in maintaining a relationship either. Besides being very close we also share a few other things together. Being Bipolar and slightly insane are two of them. LOL! Dani and I laugh non-stop when we’re together. I don’t know what it is or how to explain it but she and I are completely open and relaxed with each other. We have no walls up…we have no hidden secrets. The other one knows us for who we really are deep down inside…not for who we pretend to be…for who we show to the world…but for the real person hiding under that facade. We’ve been friends now for about 12 years so far. We’ve helped each other through many obstacles. We’ve been a shoulder to each other when one of us needed to cry. At time I might mention her husband, Norm…Or her daughters…Cassidy (13) or Savanna (9) as well.
Krissy: is my life-long pal. Krissy and I grew up together. Our mother’s were friends for many many years. And therefore Krissy and I began our friendship while we were still in diapers. We’ve shared so much of our lives together growing up and learning about life together. Krissy and I don’t get a chance to talk as often as we’d like these days. She’s always in my heart… and I in her’s. She’s married to Jerry and has 3 boys too… Mathew (17), Cody (13) and Connor(11).
Aunt B, Uncle J: My Aunt and my Uncle (They’re divorced)
Cousin S, Mr. S, Kennedy, Big O, and Lexipoo: My Cousin, her husband and their 3 adorable girls.
MIL, Renee, Busdrivin’ Fiend: My husband’s mom
FIL, Dick, Florida Man: My husband’s father
The “Dum Dums” : Victoria’s Father; Caleb, his mother, his father or his sister. These people are poison. They are ignorant, rude, and filthy. They thinking lying, cheating and stealing are no big deal and they practice these behaviors whenever they can. You can’t believe anything they say because most of the time it comes out within a few days that what they told you was complete bullshit. Caleb is violent! Hell his whole family… except his mother it seems, is violent. And none of them think anything of hitting or attacking each other.Caleb and his sister get into physical brawls all of the time. And his sister punched her own father in the face AND has him with a chair!!! And afterward they all act like nothing happened.
Caleb is physically, mentally and emotionally abusive to Ashley. He has stolen her property on several occasions, usually when she has the audacity to disagree with him. He cuts her down and cusses at her whenever the mood strikes him. Caleb has hit Ashley on 4 occasions that I know about, but Ashley denies two of those times. Thankfully the only permanent injuries from those incidents was too her pride and self-esteem. No matter how horrible he is… no matter how violent he is…Ashley believes him when he says he’s sorry and takes him back. I keep trying to show her how he has gotten progressively worse over the 4 years they’ve been on and off. ::: sigh ::: but… she doesn’t see it. And what’s worse is his family sees nothing wrong with they way he treats Ashley. The last time he hit her, she finally called the police… and his family hid him. As for the police…she called them off within 36 hours.
Because of all of this… I am done!! I have tried to make nice with all of them and they still dislike me. And since this last event with Caleb hitting Ashley I have washed my hands of them. I can’t stand by and watch her let these people abuse her and ruin her.