A Brief History of Me

A few days ago I made the comment that I supposed things could be worse and one of my wonderful new friends responded that it definitely could be worse ... I could be pregnant! Made me laugh! Which was probably her goal but also made me realize that there is much of my journey that you don't know. I'm more inclined to wordiness than brevity but I will try to give you the condensed version. :)

I was born, and mostly raised, in the grand state of Maine. Yep ... way up there in Yankee land! I'm the oldest of 3. My dad changed jobs several times while I was growing up necessitating several moves. We spent at least 2 summers living in a tent (2 adults and 3 kids) and our longest distance move was to England the summer I was 12. I'm not sure of the exact count but I think we moved somewhere between 15 - 20 times between my birth and the time I went off to college. (As an adult I look back and wonder how my mom did it!) The year between 17 & 18, I spent 6 months as an exchange student in Acapulco, Mexico. I learned to speak spanish, scuba dive, and disco dance. It was the only time in my life that I was truly slender. I suspect it was a combination of a healthy diet full of fresh fruits, veggies and fish combined with an active outdoor lifestyle.

Okay ... fast forward just a bit because you don't need oodles of Beth-trivia! I spent my first semester of college concurrently enrolled (college and high school credit at the same time) at the University of Maine in Augusta. Then my dad took a job in Caribou, Maine (little dot at the very furthest northeastern point on a US map) so I moved with the family. Looked at various college options and decided on Abilene Christian University (Texas). Moved there at 19 and was majoring in Social Work. Took a job at a home for mentally retarded adults and met Bert, who was working in a similar home, at a meeting that next summer. We spent about 6 weeks discussing all the reasons we shouldn't rush into marriage (including the fact that he was divorced and had full custody of 2 children, Dirk, 3 and Erica, 2) and then ... got married! We celebrated 30 years of marriage last year! :)

K ... fast forward a bunch ... I wanted a baby so bad! Cried most every month for 10 years when once again I wasn't pregnant. Tried ovulation charts, temperature checks, standing on my head afterwards, fertility drugs, etc. (Discovered much later that I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrom which makes it nearly impossible to conceive.) You can imagine my delight when God chose to bless us with a surprise, miracle pregnancy and a healthy baby boy in 1990! In the years following we have never used birth control of any sort. I have miscarried twice. Never had another baby. There was a time when that broke my heart. Today I am okay with it. A small family was part of God's perfect plan for me!

'Nother fast forward as my children grew, we chose to home educate, life moved incredibly fast, and I was blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom for 20+ years. I went to work full time at a plumbing supply company in 2007 and then moved to a private university in 2008. (One of the job benefits is free tuition for my now college aged son.)

In 2004, I weighed in at a whopping 435 and was convinced I was going to die in my sleep some night. Started a low carb diet and over the next 3 years I slowly and at great cost (I was spending 5 or 6 hours a day in the gym and sticking to a low carb diet religiously!) lost almost 200 pounds! Then life got chaotic and I went to work full time and slowly but surely the weight crept back on. I am mad. I am frustrated. I'm sick that I allowed this to happen after I fought it off! But it is what it is and I will do it again!

And then we come to a few details of life and health and finances and stresses over the last couple of years.

• summer 2007 - Bert had cataract surgery (both eyes)
• autumn 2007 - Bert was (finally) diagnosed with psioratic arthritis (meds are about $1500/month so very grateful for insurance!)
• July 2, 2008 - I had a close encounter with a phone pole which resulted in my car being totaled and myself *condemned* to life with whiplash (worse some days than others but it has been consistently painful since that day)
• Autumn 2008 - husband had repeated scary weak spells and blackouts - lots of medical tests
• October 2008 - Bert scheduled for Carotid Artery surgery
• November 2008 - Doctor called and said tests showed need for Pacemaker so that took priority.
• December 2008 - Carotid surgery done
• December 23, 2008 - Bert's PSA levels too high, might be cancer
• February 2009 - confirmation of Prostate Cancer - lots of research to make difficult decisions
• May 2009 - surgical removal of prostate (since then all his PSAs have been excellent! No indication that cancer has returned or spread outside the prostate!)
• Autumn 2009 - Bert's having weak spells again
• October 2009 - Bert had a light stroke - more tests revealed that he is one of 4% of the patients who develop scar tissue blockage following carotid surgery. Lucky him! Had to have another surgery to put in a stent.
• And February 2010 - I blew out my knee!

So ... it's been a rough couple of years (but God has seen us through)! We are in extreme financial stress just from deductibles and copays, along with a few other issues. I couldn't possibly be pregnant! (LOL) And we are all ready for some peace, quiet and good health!

BUT ... I will be having surgery on my knee next week. And one of our adult children is in a very bad situation that is keeping us on our knees!

God is still God and He is still good and all these things will work together for our good because we know Him and are called according to His purpose! But there are days when I need you to remind that this is true!

Thanks for walking with me!