I want candy, well chocolate anyway...

Friday "Eat, Drink, And Be Scary": Today Laura from Better In Bulk wants to see want we are making in the kitchen. Show your devilish desserts, give us the scoop on pumpkins, or share your favorite holiday drink. If cooking isn't your cup of tea, then tell us what you are doing with your leftover Halloween candy. Do you enjoy immediately, save for later, or just bribe your kids with it when needed?
(this is another Flip camera post so link up and try to win one too)




Normally I would be cooking up something Scary in the kitchen, but with my silly foot I won't even be making Halloween decoration soup this year, because I didn't decorate (I always make a yummy squash soup out of my pumpkin and gourd decorations. Waste not want not you know).
So I'll have to refer to the good old standby question: WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY?

When I was a kid, candy wasn't as readily available to us as it is to my kids today. Candy was a treat, something to look forward to so we ate it very slowly even keeping our Halloween bags in the freezer so it would stay fresher longer.

Now that I'm older, I don't like candy all that much unless you're talking chocolate. I likes me some chocolate. So if we do have leftover candy I usually will confiscate all of the chocolate for myself then leave the bowl out on the kitchen counter until it's all picked through and gone, often throwing away the few bits left at the bottom of the bowl that nobody likes (I don't mind wasting candy because it is not real food you know).

So there you have it. And because I feel bad for not cooking up anything scary this Halloween I will leave you with a little something SCARY that Marlee cooked up in the kitchen this morning (she really did work on this in the kitchen).

This is how my sweet Marlee, lover of all things Halloween, went to school today. This picture doesn't do it justice. It looks much better in person and oh so SCARY.

Spooky shmooky...

WRITERS WORKSHOP PROMPT:
Show your spooky side
(join in today for another chance to win that great Flip camera)

As far as Halloween goes, here is my spooky side. Way back in 1995 I was a witch getting ready to feast on this scrumptiously plump sweet baby Paige. She was so deliciously chunky (love chunky babies). I must have lured her in with my candy house because all witches have candy houses you know. That's what Waylon told me anyway. He said, "Mom, if you ever see a house made out of candy don't go there. Stay far away from it because witches make their houses out of candy so they can catch you."

Whew, I'm glad he learned that. I certainly wouldn't want him to be caught by a witch.

The reason this is my only spooky picture is because

1) nobody ever takes pictures of the mama and

2) I usually go for the cutesie costumes more than the scary. I know I'm such a girl.

But this year I don't think I'll dress up at all because my foot hurts and I'm stuck on stupid crutches and I'm just not in a festive mood okay (cry me a river you big baby). Unless someone has an awesome idea for a costume that involves a broken foot and crutches. Then and only then I might just get a little excited. In the meantime, I am very fortunate to have a certain Miss Marlee in my life because this girl lives and breathes Halloween. It's her favorite holiday. And she is always spooky with no patience for girly girls on this most ghoulish of nights.

And with her mad skills as a makeup artist, she will be able to save the night, painting up all of her sibs while I sit on my fanny. Boy is she going to be busy.
LOVE THAT GIRL.

A time to remember...

Today the Wordful Wednesday theme over at 7 Clown Circus is~ GHOSTS OF HALLOWEEN PAST
And guess what... if you link in too you'll get another chance at winning that great Flip camera. Woo-hoo!

I didn't mean to take the prompt "Ghosts of Halloween past" so literally but when I saw this picture of my oldest son carving a pumpkin with his grandpa I couldn't help myself. Grandpas can be such an important part of a child's life and Grandpa Turk was one of the best. My children adored him and were quite devastated when we lost him three years ago.


And because their other grandpa died before any of them were born, my kids are missing an important piece of their lives, which can feel really sad at times.

Because of the lose of our dear loved ones I became quite interested in a documentary I saw last year on the Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos (I googled that).

If you want to learn more about this celebration you can read about it here.(or google it like I did).
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In this article Carlos Miller explains, "More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.
It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate. A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. "

The reason I am so interested in this tradition is that it is a time to remember and celebrate our dead. I love, love, love this idea. Again from the article:
"Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake."
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I too believe that we continue on after death and I know that my loved ones are in a wonderful place and that we will be reunited someday, which is another reason I love this celebration. Love it.
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The article mentions different ways that the Day of the Dead is celebrated but I really loved this idea:

"In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate gravesites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones."
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We don't live by the gravesites of our loved ones and to my knowledge none of them drank tequila, but I love the idea of having a gathering where we celebrate the lives of our loved ones, eating their favorite foods, telling their favorite stories, singing their favorite songs and just remembering them while teaching our children about their ancestors.
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Did I say I love this? Well I do.
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From what I've read, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated from October 31- November 2 (correct me if I'm wrong) and I so want to start this tradition this year. With my bum foot it will have to be something small and simple, but I look forward to doing this for years to come.
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And if I could talk to my lost loved ones today I'd say, "Look it snowed last night."


Our first snowfall of the year came early, and though I hate the cold I must admit that the snow sure is pretty.

Creepy creations...

Today is "Creepy Crawly Crafts" day: Link up with Mayhem And Moxie by sharing anything you've created this Halloween. Examples include, Halloween costumes, recipes, crafts, party invites, treats, decorations etc...
And if you do you just might win a Flip camera. Woo-hoo!




For my Creepy Crawly Craft I'm sharing my favorite Halloween decoration. I came up with this little lovely last year and it will now be my favorite for all time. Yes it will. I love it for its simplicity, its inexpensitivity, and its oompfinessability (I took creative license on my word choices here so don't worry if you've never heard, read or spelled them before, spell check hasn't either).

All you need are some dollar store vases (cheap) and some dead branches from your yard or the adjoining field as the case may be (free). Throw in a dollar store crow and your good to go. So easy, so cheap, so oompfinessalicious. You really should make your very own version of it today. You really should.

But if this isn't creepy enough for you maybe you'd like to copy my other Creepy Crawly Halloween Creation. I call it...

THE FOOT!

I am so done with this injury. I made the declaration that I would be off of my crutches and walking by the end of this week. That's right you heard me I'm done. But then a simple task like packing school lunches causes my foot to turn this lovely shade of purple, my toes become like little fat juicy smoked sausages, and my ankle throbs and aches, begging for elevation STAT. So it looks like I'll be stuck with the crutches longer than I'd like gosh dang it (of course longer than I'd like happened way back after day one but whatever).

To accomplish this creation all you need is a momentary lack of judgement. But be for warned this project is not easy, oh so very not cheap... but oompfinessalicious?

Hmm, maybe...

It's a great conversation starter to be sure. Yes it is.

So if you're looking for a good conversation piece, especially if you like to have the same conversation over and over and over again, go ahead...

...break yourself this Halloween. It's sure to be your most interesting project yet.

Who's your favorite greaser...

We just watched "The Outsiders" and listening to my girls ooh, ahh, sigh and squeal over the same guys that I used to ooh, ahh, sigh and squeal over was so FUN.
My oh my that was a yummy cast wasn't it.
My oh my indeed.

Finding my passion...

WRITERS WORKSHOP PROMPT:
Describe what makes you want to live a life with passion.

A few years ago I woke to the sound of Marlee sobbing uncontrollably. SOBBING I tell you, she was beside herself with grief and I was THRILLED. Before you think me to be a monster mother I must explain that the reason my child's distress delighted me so was because she was reading my manuscript, the story that I wrote my very own self and I was so happy that she had been sucked into the characters enough to have that kind of reaction.

"Why did he have to do it mom? Why?" She cried. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. But then something happened. For some reason I put my manuscript on the shelf and lost my passion for writing. And it was a passion let me tell you. A passion that woke me at night and followed me around all day. A passion that made me more whole than I had ever been before or have experienced since.

I want to live a life with passion so I can get that back.

Taking old ugly things and making them pretty has been my hobby, my PASSION for years. I painted this once ugly old yard sale dresser many, many years ago and it has followed us from house to house ever since. It's just one of the many fun furniture makeovers that have filled our home and they have brought me great joy. But then something happened and I lost my passion for decorating and makeovers. A very sad, sad thing that has made me a very dull, sad girl.

I want to live a life with passion so I can finally make my new house a home.

My first two daughters never left the house without their hair neatly combed. I had a passion for making sure that my children didn't look like orphans. But then something happened and I let my younger two daughters take charge of their own lives... is that good or bad? I think it's bad especially because when I finally did Easton's hair in a cute style yesterday everyone kept asking her, "Who did your hair? Who did your hair?" Of course it never occurred to them that her mother had done her hair because they had long since assumed that the poor child was an orphan with no mother at all. Sad.

I want to live a life with passion so my children will look as loved on the outside as they are on the inside.

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We've all heard the saying, "When momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy"

Well I would add to that, "When momma ain't got passion, ain't nobody got passion"

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I want to live a life with passion so my children will know that this life is theirs to grab hold of and run with. They can have anything, do anything, and be anything they want if they will just go for it and live everyday

WITH PASSION.

Scary but right...

Back before I started blogging I would use my free computer browsing time to look up writing prompts. My husband says that to have to sit and write an essay or short story would be a form of torture for him, but for me it's fun, one of my favorite pastimes.

So when I came across the weekly writing prompts over at "Mama's Losin' It" I was happy happy.



And now Mama Kat over at "Mama's Losin' It" has led me to another writing idea found over at "Scary Mommy"



And this writing prompt is a contest too. A contest to find another scary mommy. To win this contest I need to convince the world that I indeed am a scary mommy. Hmm...

Truth be told, I have been blessed with a lot of patience. I don't say this to boast of myself because we all have "our thing" and patience just happens to be mine, but believe you me there are plenty of other areas in motherhood that are not "my thing" areas that I stink at. Yes it's true. And though I have been blessed with patience you better know that sometimes I still freak out and yell at my little darlings. Yes I do. Especially when it's time to leave the house and one or all of them are still not ready. "Are you kidding me that you can only find one of your shoes AGAIN!" I screech. And when I say one shoe I mean one of each shoe. One flip-flop, one tennis shoe, one cute flat, one crock, one boot, one sandal... ONE, ONE, ONE! It makes me crazy and I have on more than ONE occasion threatened to cut off ONE of my children's feet to solve the ONE shoe problem. Now that's scary.

Because being a scary mommy is all about being honest with ourselves and others about the difficulties of motherhood I will confess that my frustrations with my children really point back to a sense of failure in myself. I have a dream and in my dream there is order, calm and perfect bliss. My dream includes shiny waxed floors, peaceful music, the smell of homemade bread, perfectly made beds with a mint on the pillow and little love notes tucked between the row of neatly folded socks in each of my children's drawers.

So the reality of having my children frantically dig through the laundry basket full of unmatched, unfolded socks when it's time to walk out the door jabs and churns in my gut, revealing the scary mommy beneath my normally patient composer. It can be very hard to be a stay at home mom when the "home" part of the equation seems so far beyond your realm of capability and because of this I spent many a year wondering if I should just give up the gig to go out and find a job that suited me better.

But in the quiet moments of hugs and boo-boo kisses, storybooks and make believe, laughter at the things my little ones say as they try to figure out this big wide world, and tears as I listen to the testimonies of my older children who really "get it" I know that, despite my failure to be the homemaker extraordinaire that I dream of, and though this job AND I can be scary at times, I'm exactly where I need to be...

... and I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

So here's the thing...

It started with a need. Jamie and Easton needed more drawer space for their clothes. Their dresser was just not cutting it. So I got creative I did. Because as I once heard Dr Phil say, "There is no such thing as money problems, just creativity problems." (I wonder if he still says that in this economy cuz I'm thinking there are a lot of money problems right about now)

So I said to myself, "Hey self, why don't you take the ginormous dresser out of Landon's room, especially because he only uses about a third of it, and put it in J and E's room?" Why not indeed. And that's just what I did, all by myself, because I am one tough chic.

While playing musical dressers my S.H.E.-ness (sidetracked home executive) got the better of me, as it often does and I suddenly found myself in the middle of another project.

These yard sale find shutters have been following me around for years just waiting for the perfect place to be put and yesterday was their day. Yesterday, right in the midst of my dresser mess and chaos, I decided to hang these lovely shutters by J and E's bedroom window. Simple enough--right? Well it would have been if not for my one stupid mistake.

The piano bench was my mistake. The old rickety piano bench that tips over every time the wind blows (it really does). It is not a stable bench, not at all and it certainly should never be stood upon. It would definitely be a very dumb idea to stand on that rickety old piano bench. And that is exactly what I kept telling myself the entire time I was standing on it to reach the top of the shutters.

So I wasn't very surprised when I felt myself falling downward, nope not at all. And when I saw my foot twist under that there rickety bench and felt my body slam down on top of that bent up foot I said, "Oh that can't be good."

And then the screaming started. It was like being on a roller coaster, I just couldn't stop screaming. That was some crazy pain. It only got worse from there and soon I couldn't walk at all. Stupid.

The bad news is that I crunched the corner of my leg bone right at the bottom where it meets my foot, so I get to be in a lot of pain and hobble around on crutches for three or four weeks. Not happy. The good news is that I only crunched the corner of my bone so it doesn't need to be set or have a cast, which means I get to avoid more visits to the doctor and extra medical expenses. Very happy.

So the moral of the story is, don't be a S.H.E., don't be dumb, don't stand on rickety piano benches and always, ALWAYS listen to the little voice in the back of your head that tells you when you are being a dumb, rickety bench stander on-er S.H.E. when all you really wanted to do was to get a bigger dresser for your girls.

P.S. I almost posted a picture of the huge-o-mongous bruise I got on my leg too because it is something to behold let me tell you. But it's on the back of my upper thigh and what kind of crazy woman would post a picture of the back of her upper thigh? Not me.
But you really should see my bruise because... WOW.

Seriously...

WRITERS WORKSHOP PROMPT:
I'm supposed to interview my mom for this weeks prompt. I'm supposed to ask her questions about her momhood, one of the questions being, "what was the most rewarding part of being a mother?"
But I can't ask that right now. I can't do anything right now but cringe and try not to scream. Because I am in pain I tell you PAIN.

I'll find out tomorrow if it's broken (the Doctors office x-ray machine was on the fritz) and I am dying right now (and that's with pain meds). I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight. Never break yourself if you can avoid it. It's not a good idea and it is not fun.

But in kinda keeping with this weeks prompt I'll tell you that the most rewarding thing about being a mother for me is having kids who love me so much. They have been so attentive and sweet to me tonight, Landon even held my leg up until the pain medicine kicked in because the pressure from the pillow was killing me. Man I love being a mom.

But I don't love stupid ideas that end in great suffering. I'll tell you what happened later. I'm in too much pain to try and form any more sentences right now.

Winner, winner chicken dinner...

I don't really have time to blog today. There are projects a foot at my sweet abode. Projects that are keeping me very busy. Projects that are working to restore some pre-small town life giddiness to my silly soul. Hooray for projects.

And here's a little sneaky peaky at one of them for your viewing pleasure. Fun-fun.
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But even though I don't have time to blog today, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about the major award that I won over the weekend. Hooray for awards. It all happened on Saturday night when my darling and I went on a date to a furniture store open house. It was a catered hors d'oeuvres and wine open house. Fancy. We skipped the wine but indulged in the rich dark chocolate cake. Scrumptious (I think I just drooled a little). We were having a fabulous time browsing around the store (me in my fierce new boots) pointing out all of the pieces we would buy if we had any money, when it happened... my name was called as the winner of a major award. Hooray for me.

And here it is. Do you like it? No... I didn't win a windowsill filled with a bunch 'o stuff, I won these...

Ain't they purty. I sure thought so when I was led to the table full of major awards to choose from Saturday night. I thought, "my those are pretty. I think I'll take them home." And I was happy about it too. Very happy. I mean it's not everyday that one wins a major award. Happy, happy, happy

UNTIL...

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Just as we were nearing home I remembered that, while showing me the major awards the owner had pointed out that I could also choose a 25 dollar store gift certificate for my prize if I wanted too. And now in the quiet of my car, away from the hypnotizing affect of the major awards staring up at me, I suddenly shouted, "WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING?!! Why would I pick freaking candlesticks when I could have gotten 25 dollars?!! That could have helped pay for my clock!" (my honey bought me a clock).

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My love then said, "Don't worry about it. I enjoyed getting the clock. I like buying you things."

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"Yes I know." I smiled at him, "And believe me I pinch myself everyday just to prove that my life with you is real, but seriously WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!"

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And then my major award wasn't so major anymore. In fact I was quite mad at my stupid major award

UNTIL...

I put them out amongst my roosters and old bottles and tied some antique buttons around them, because I really am more shabby than chic, and now I love them again. Those sweet little major awards. And to apologize for calling them stupid I am going to go to the antique store today to buy them some fun new candles.

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Now the only question is, Should I get honey colored candles or red ones?

I'm leaning toward honey.

What do you think?

Are you kidding me...

If you grew up in the eighties like I did you will remember the dreaded villain of many a movie made back then... the big, bad, scary SOVIET UNION, dun, dun dun. Does a chill run down your spine when you hear that name?

No?

Well maybe that's because of this man here...

Good old Ronald Reagan. Due partly to his great leadership, we no longer have to worry about the Soviet Union. Due partly to his great leadership, we can now go to the movies and enjoy stories with villains such as these...

instead of those scary Russians. Thank you Ronald Reagan. Thank you for making our world a safer place. I'd say you deserve an award for that. Perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, the Nobel Peace Prize would be a great award to give to someone who did so much to bring about world peace. But then, it is a pretty prestigious award. Pretty dang special indeed. They don't just go handing them out all willy nilly you know. They guard them carefully until the time is just right. Until they can find a man like this...

I'm sorry Mr. Reagan, but it seems they had to save your Nobel Peace Prize for this guy because he's just so dang awesome. What did he do to earn it? You ask.

Well he um... well it must be because he um...

Well he hasn't exactly DONE anything yet, but he sure talks purty.

Evolving...

WRITERS WORKSHOP PROMPT:
When I look in the mirror...

When I look in the mirror I know that it is time for me to evolve. I came to this realization two years ago when I looked into the mirror and for the first time said, "Holy moly it's really happening! I'm starting to look old(er)." I wish I could tell you that I handled this change with grace and dignity, but truth be told, it FREAKED ME OUT. I spent a great deal of time and money trying to find the perfect fix for my new "infirmity" but knowing that whatever I found would only be a temporary fix flat out depressed me. So I had a choice to make. Either remain depressed or evolve.

Evolve into the person that I truely came to this earth to become. I realized that growing old(er) is a wonderful gift. A time to forget the superficial and focus on the sublime. As was confirmed to me when I read in 2 Corinthians 4:16

...but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

So I decided that instead of mourning the loss of my outward youth I would rejoice in and work at developing that which will never perish, THE INWARD ME.

I delight in knowing that if I work at it, someday I just might be as amazing as this wonderful woman. Marjorie Pay Hinckley wife of the late LDS Prophet Gordon B Hinckley. I admire the attitude, sense of humor and wisdom she shared with the earth. She is a great example to me and if growing old means that I have a chance of being anything like she was, then I can honestly say that I look forward to it. I look forward to EVOLVING.

And the thought of becoming a little old lady side by side with my little old man is a sweet thought indeed.

My dream is that we will be able to hobble along together wearing out our lives in the service of our God. And if I can do this I know that when I look into the mirror true beauty will shine back at me for I will have evolved into someone far more beautiful than I ever was before.

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Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

~1 John 2:15-17

Why not...

"My mother taught me some basic philosophies of rearing children. One is that you have to trust them. I tried hard never to say "no" if I could possible say "yes" I think that worked well because it gave my children the feeling that I trusted them and they were responsible to do the best they could."
~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I'm not a perfect parent that's for sure (is there such a thing?) But one thing I have tried to do in my parenting is to choose my battles. My children know that I do not bend when it comes to obeying the commandments of God. They know of my conviction to be a moral, kind, honest person and that personal integrity is very important to me. They know that I'm using my time on this earth to try to become the best me possible and I have testified to them that it is through the Lord Jesus Christ that I will be able to accomplish this. They know these truths and to my delight as their mother, they are trying to live this way too.

My children have powerful testimonies of God and the Savior and they are good, kind-hearted, selfless people that make me proud everyday. I feel so blessed and privileged to get to share my life with them.
So on occasion when they decide that they want to look like this...

I don't fret. In fact I like it. I mean why not have blue hair if the mood strikes you

An asymmetrical "Cyndi Lauper" do or purple and platinum style can be fun too. Why not I say, why not?
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I try to say "yes" so that my "no's" will mean something. I try to teach and testify whenever I can and I try to let my kids know that I am a safe place to come when they need to talk. If they say, "Man, I really wish I could get a tattoo." I don't freak out or lecture, I say, "Of course you do. Why wouldn't you. Everyone else has one and some of them look really cool." But I remind them that our bodies are sacred and that we have been counseled to treat them as such. "Besides, do you really want to be permanently stuck with a fad of your youth?" I ask. I shudder to think of being stuck with my ginormous eighties bangs. Can you imagine. Yikes.
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Communication is key. I want my kids to know that it is "normal" to have worldly thoughts and desires, that there is no sin in temptation. It is what we do with our temptations that determine the type of person we will become. And if they are able to resist and overcome, Oh the joy that awaits us!
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Like I said before, I'm not a perfect parent and I know that despite my best efforts I just might have a child who decides to get a tattoo (or whatever the case may be) anyway because ultimately this is their journey to figure out, but I sure am enjoying our time together and I will never stop teaching, loving and encouraging them because they're so worth it.
I love being a mom, I love my kids, and I LOVE...

THIS BIRTHDAY GIRL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARLEE!

SWEET SIXTEEN...

How did that happen?

So lucky...

WRITERS WORKSHOP PROMPT:

Tell why you are ecstatic "The one that got away" got away.

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Only I'm changing it a bit to:

Tell why you are ecstatic "The one that almost got away" didn't get away.

He and his brother just got back from a four-day trip to Chicago, that husband of mine, and boy did I miss him. When he walked through the door upon his return, he took my breath away. TOOK IT AWAY. We looked passionately into one another’s eyes and wondered at how lucky we are to still be so in love after nearly 20 years. So lucky, especially when I think of how close I came to letting him get away so many years ago.

I’ve mentioned that I met my darling in a college Spanish class, but what I didn’t tell you was that I still had a boyfriend at the time. He had moved away for a while so it was a long distance relationship, but a relationship just the same. But when a young man walks past your desk and angels sing, well that sort of thing simply can’t be ignored. So I got to know Rick (my husband) and instantly fell for him even though I still was in contact with the boyfriend far away. In time I got to where I only wanted to be with Rick and my communications with the boyfriend became less frequent. I had all but moved on and was very happy until…
…the boyfriend moved back to town.

At first this didn’t change a thing. I didn’t even see or talk to the boyfriend for awhile, but then one night my dad came to tell me that the boyfriend had called and that he sounded very upset and that maybe I should call him to see if he was okay (later my dad very much regretted telling me this, but he had a big heart and didn’t want to see anyone get hurt). So I called. I agreed to meet. And I got sucked back in.

(Rick and I at Knott's Berry Farm. I was feeling so sad because I knew this was the end)

All of this happened while Rick was away visiting family in Idaho. He got back just in time to go to California with me and some friends of ours, a trip that we had planned some time before. We had a wonderful time going to Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm together, but all the while the trip was clouded with my feelings of extreme guilt and I knew I had to tell Rick the truth. So I told him and he was very understanding, but I still felt guilty about it. So when we returned home and he said good-bye and take-care as I got into my car to leave, my guilt read his “take-care” message as more of a “see you, been nice knowing you, have a great life but not with me” kind of thing and I drove home heart broken.

Too devastated to talk to anyone, I left town with my family for a while, sleeping most of the trip away because I was so depressed, then came home and tried to settle into the idea that I was going to be with the boyfriend for the rest of my life. Yes, it was “meant to be” I tried to tell myself. But it wasn’t meant to be and I couldn’t settle so I called my dad and asked if he could please send me out of state to college so I could get away. He agreed and off I went. Once my head cleared and I got stronger I called Rick and HE WAS HAPPY TO HEAR FROM ME. Relief.
I then broke up with the boyfriend once and for all,

Rick and I got back together, got engaged and...

lived happily ever after.

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Whew, that was a close one.