Well, Hello there

Like the new look? Jessica over at the The Love List did it for me and I luuuvvvveee it. She did exactly what I wanted.

If you follow me on Twitter you know I have had to work thru many, many things.

QUICK RECAP:
Divorced
Had to close my family’s company of 30 years due to my Mother’s retirement and the economy
Got baptized
Got a new job as a territory sales rep
Moved to Macon, GA where I know NO ONE
Been thru a rebound boyfriend and a boyfriend I almost married
Physical therapy for my hip
Took Kaplan for the GMAT which I get to take again because I sucked so bad the first time
Working really hard to stay gluten and dairy free. Not always successful.
List goes on and on.

If you had told me 2 years ago let alone 5 years ago that this would all be going down I NEVER would have believed you. EVER.

I had planned to stay married for life, work for my family for life and never leave Atlanta. None of that is happening. It is still hard for me to understand why everything had to change so much. But I have said it once and I will say it again I am glad I went thru it at 30 or 31 and not 40+ with kids.

And as I have changed or had to go with the flow my faith in God has increased and strengthened. I will be honest with you at one point I did think about suicide. My whole world had fallen apart. I just was not sure if I could go on. My husband was someone I did not know. Someone who wanted a completely different life and had very different values than me. I was finally off of multiple mind alternating substances, but still drinking heavily. The greatest success of my life was shutting down due to no fault of mine or my Mom’s. People I was friends with while married no longer spoke to me. Even though I was the one who had thrown the parties, bought the gifts, provided if they needed anything. I felt completely alone and just felt like it did not matter any more.

Now I am one to joke and play things off, but it was bad. My Mom would call me if I did not show up to work on time to make sure I was still alive. I had to go to therapy. It sucked. But in the end I did not want to give up. I knew that I had “nine lives” and it was time to move on to the next. I turned to God. I prayed every day. I prayed for wisdom, patience and just to get thru it. And I did.

Everybody gets divorced anymore. There is more to that story and why it was so brutal which I will talk maybe in the future. The divorce is my big insecurity and something I am still working thru.

What I am trying to say, rather poorly, is that I feel like the light just might be here. Life goes on. Life has problems. I thank God for being alive and getting another chance at it.

I need to work on this blog. The links are irrelevant now and the blog will be much more personal than it used to be. So we just see what happens.

And I promise I won’t be depressing all the time.

16 Responses to “Well, Hello there”

  • So happy to have you back in blog land – I’ve been keeping up with you these past 2 years on twitter. I truly believe that you’ll find your groove and be happy in your life. I’m continuously impressed by your strength!

    Elizabeth

  • Anne:

    So glad you are back!!

  • Petunia:

    So happy to see that you are blogging again!

  • John:

    Good to see you back up and blogging again, Leslie!

  • Leslie! I am so happy to see you back to blogging — yours was one of the first ones I ever started reading and I’m so happy that you asked me to help re-vamp your blog’s look when the time came. I LOVE the way it turned out — its so you! After everything you’ve been through these past few years I am continually impressed at your ability to still have a good laugh at life, kick back, and have fun :) I’m looking forward to more new stuff on your blog too! xoxo

  • So happy to hear you’re doing well. Thanks for sharing how you’ve gotten here; that (the writing about & the living it) cannot have been easy, to put it mildly. And no need to apologize because us readers enjoy hearing about you, whether it’s “depressing” or otherwise.

  • Jenn:

    Welcome back to blogging. When things are really bad, I’m always reminded that I’ve got nowhere to go but up. I hope this year is a great one for you.

  • EKM:

    Still waiting for your Lifetime movie debut.

  • Jane:

    I have never read your blog before but congratulate you on your transformation!

  • So glad you are back blogging even though I follow on twitter. It is hard…so hard to do these things with dignity, without wanting to scream “hey f%cker-I DID ALL OF THIS…for you”. My mother is going throgh something similar now (thank god not with my father, just a relationship/career ending) and it really puts it in perspective. No need to apologize at all- you are “keeping it real” as we used to say on the blogs before twitter.

  • It is so, so good to be able to read you again. You have such a gift for elegance in the candor of your writing, reading the blog is *always* a good thing, even when it is sad and hard and I want to reach into the computer and give you a hug. I learn so much from you Leslie, you are just a treasure. Congratulations on finding triumph amidst the wreckage, you are an amazing woman.

    Sending you smiles and hopes for happier days to come, you have certainly earned them.
    tp

  • Glad to see you back! (although you have been pretty active on Twitter!!)

  • I’m a first time reader to your blog. I feel your pain. Keep running the good race – proud of you!

  • So glad to see you back. Your new blog look is awesome. I’ve been following you on twitter and am so glad to see you bringing your new life to the blog. Yay!

  • ANGELA GREENE:

    I just came across your blog today & have only read the 2 posts on your home page dated May 3 & 16. I applaud you for your brutal honesty—it’s quite refreshing to read that others have the same problems.
    I am originally from a small town named “Butler” which is about 45 miles west of Macon so I’m very familiar with Macon–it’s the closest town where there is a Wal-Mart & a mall from my hometown. But I moved away from there almost 7 years ago to Amelia Island, Fl–which is just a small town that happens to be on an island–it’s the 1st beach town I had ever been to where there are only homes on the beach instead of hotels & condos. We only have 1 hotel right on the beach but you can rent alot of the homes that are on the beach.
    Anyway, enough about me–I’m really looking forward to reading more of your blog. I wish you nothing but the best as you embark on this new chapter of your life. As someone who is on my 4th marriage with 3 divorces behind me, I know how painful it can be.
    GOOD LUCK!!!!

  • “sadism…

    Ahh tis quite true:.”…

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