Tuesday Coffee Chat: Love is in the Air

I'm joining Leslie at Time Out for Mom for Tuesday Coffee Chat. This week's prompt: Love. Amore. What is it? Does it happen at first sight? Do you only get one great love per lifetime? How do YOU know love? 
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I'm getting a 2nd chance at love, true love...

I suddenly found myself raising 3 kids as a divorced Mom 2 years ago after an 18 year marriage. Although I should not have been surprised (and I won't get into the details publicly), it was sudden and unexpected and heart-breaking.

But it was the best decision for myself and my kids.

After a year of  deep healing and personal growth, I entered the dating scene. Dating as a young 20 year old and as a :: cough cough :: 42-year-old are very different experiences. I had entered another dimension! I was told on-line dating sites were THE way to go now...

The idea of joining eHarmony screamed of desperation to me. I wasn't desperate. I just wanted to be social, to find someone to have conversation with, to enjoy the company of a man, something I hadn't had in a decade. But a dating site? Really?

After several, er, interesting dates, I joined a friendship and dating "community" website set up much like Facebook, and it wasn't long before I was ready to hit that delete profile button. I seemed to attract either older men, 60+, or young men, 20s, and nothing inbetween. And I won't mention the women...But one day I saw a status of a 40-something man who posted a photo of his chicken salad lunch. It looked good. I commented.

And that's all, folks!

Thomas and I started messaging back and forth, about every day life, about kids, about single parenting, about God, about salads. We met face-to-fact at Dunkin' Donuts 3 weeks later on May 4th. 

We clicked. We sipped. We talked. We waited for AAA to come. Leave it to me to lock my keys in the van within 2 seconds of meeting him. And we shopped for toilet paper together at the store next door. (We use the same brand. Very important!) He will be forever called TP Guy by my friends.

On June 27th, we changed our Facebook statuses to "in a relationship", deleted our website dating profiles and stopped dating anyone else.

We spent a day at a gorge in the summer. Tom carved this into a
picnic table with LOADS of others.

We knew. We knew we were supposed to be together, to be joined forever. I think when you're :: cough cough :: 40-something you just know if someone is "the one". Life experiences have taught you what's important, what you can't live without, and whether someone will drive you loopy over time...

On May 10th, we'll be tying the knot. Oh, happy day!

Tuesday Coffee Chat: That One Resolution

It's that time again! Last year has concluded and the next one has begun. No doubt that a new year can be a new beginning, a fresh start to something wonderful (hopefully). Did you make resolutions? and how are they going? I always say I don't make any, but in my "mind's eye" I have a few floating around, focusing me through the chilly Maine winter months (because they don't usually last much longer than that).

Leslie from Time Out for Mom asks: One thing I would like to accomplish in 2015 is ________. 

Now, I could say the ol' stand-by. This year is going to be THE year I lose that 50 pounds. I've lost some over the last couple of years, but that 50 wasn't much of a priority in 2014. You know what they say about falling in love...Fortunately *I* haven't gained any!

Or I'll save more money, pay off more bills, do more with less. Or I'll get to all those home improvement and repair projects. But really? Who am I kidding? It's a good thing my fiance doesn't mind fixing things...

No, the ONE thing I would like to accomplish in 2015 is to have more fun with my family. Fun doesn't have to be expensive or complicated, but it does have to be relaxed and together. It has to be filled with laughter! And maybe some new experiences. When it comes right down to it, family is the best thing we've got!

As a suddenly divorced Mom, life got complicated. There was healing to do, both the kids and I. I became responsible for...well, almost everything! Managing a home, keeping up with 3 busy kids, homeschooling, caring for a mish-mash of pets, and stretching those few dollars took most of my time and energy. Not that we didn't have fun, but life became more stressed, more serious, more exhausting. 

But this year? This year will be different! Let the silliness begin!

A Peak at Our Week: The One With Rearranging and Thinking Ahead

In My Life This Week
Phew! We had some H-H-HOT temperatures for a number of days. 90+ degrees with high dew points! It was kinda miserable. And we don't have AC, just lots of fan. I was SO relieved that the rain arrived and cooled us down.

And my divorce become final. I started June as a newly divorced Mama. Some days it seems surreal and others too real. But either way, I march on.

On The Menu

SUMMERTIME IS SALAD TIME. So, on Saturday and Tuesday I made up salads: Chinese Chicken Salad, egg salad for sandwiches (because eggs are CERTAINLY in abundance now), pasta salad (made with ham and cheddar), tuna and pea pasta salad, macaroni and turkey bacon salad, and fruit salad (with cantaloupe and strawberries).  Our favorite salads made for QUICK lunches and dinners!

Hint: Assemble salads with lettuce without the dressing. Mix it in right before eating so it doesn't get soggy throughout the week. And anything crunchy? Add those before eating, too, to keep the crunch.

Homeschool Happenings
A declutter, reorganize and rearrange of the diningroom/school room. The room is only 10x10 so I moved the table under the window instead of floating in the middle, then relocated the desk/hutch and a bookcase against another wall. After going through our supplies, I organized them onto the shelves. I'd like to get some pretty boxes for supplies and a throw rug for the floor, but that's for another day.

I also started looking over next year's curricula and began making plans for our new daily schedule. It's fun to look ahead to the fall even though we have "the lazy days of summer" ahead. How are you doing with next year's planning?

Funny how just changing where things are makes them new and exciting again. Sam rediscovered the Magnetix and started building with them again. Magnets and a metal tin make for loads of fun!

Places We Went, People We Saw

♥ Mt. Washington Scout Camping (S) ♥ Kayaking/Swimming (J/C) ♥ Portfolio Reviews (J) ♥ Softball (C) ♥ Scouts (J) ♥ Clarinet/Band (C) ♥ 

Our Favorite Thing
We went on our VERY FIRST kayaking trip this weekend, a few hours spent paddling around the lake. We saw several families of Canada Geese and some Loons. Nothing more relaxing! (But we ended up with some sore muscles and sunburnt legs.)

Something to Share

Did you miss these posts?
The Little Things - Freedom to Play
As the Garden Grows...S-L-O-W-L-Y

As always, linking up to these AWESOME blogs:

A Winding, Bumpy Road to New Beginnings

Life sure follows a winding and bumpy road every now and again, huh? I never would've have thought that my life (and the life of my kids) would be headed down THIS ROAD: divorce and single parenting. So, as we, my kids and I, travel these new twisty roads together, I decided to chronicle our adventures in this blog, A Great Balancing Act. I'm a bit disheartened about leaving Our Side of the Mountain, but it's attached to our old road, one we won't be driving back down again, but one remembered always. Onto life's next road trip...