2022 was a doozy y’all. Strap in, hold on tight and let’s go!
Early in 2022 I began to notice a shift. There were things happening at home and there were things happening with my job. Eventually I was let go from my job in early April. I loved the job, the people, the flexibility but in the end it just didn’t work out and that’s okay. During that time of uncertainty is when Joe was offered a position and after several attempts to apply for the position (red tape), he was officially offered the job in Savannah-just a week after I lost my job. Thankfully he was allowed to stay in Rome until the boys were finished with school. So I used that time to get the house ready to move-purging, packing, cleaning etc.
In that time we made a few trips to Savannah to go house hunting and kept coming up short. My mom offered for the boys and I to come stay with her until we could find something and Joe would stay with a family member. So in May we made the move. We stuffed all of our household goods into a storage unit in Savannah and the boys and I made the move to Jacksonville two hours away.
Those first few weeks in Jacksonville were awful. Joe was in Savannah. My kids were several states away on an RV adventure. I just left everything I knew in Rome-friends, “framily” and a close knit support system. I had no job. So I began job hunting and landed a position at Amazon. The hours are long and being on my feet for 10 hours a day was a hard and fast change from being at a desk job for so long. The weight began to fall off and it fell off fast.
I began to look for a church home for the time being. For years when visiting mom we would drive by Rise Church and I often thought of just visiting when we were in town but it never happened. So I finally went and instantly felt at home. Now, it’s no Legacy Church (Hi family!), but it felt like home. The boys got plugged into the youth services and I began serving.
During the summer I had a talk with Joe and decided that it was time to end our 16 year marriage. For the sake of privacy, I won’t go into why. That’s between he and I. In August, the boys started new schools in a new state and boy oh boy were we in for a rude awakening. RCS really did spoil us. Duval county schools is probably the worst school system I have ever experienced. Ever. After some time, we gave the boys the option to stay here in Jacksonville or move to Savannah with their dad.
The week of Thanksgiving they all moved to Savannah. After a couple of hiccups getting them into school, they are thriving again. J is in JROTC with G and J was just offered a job this week. G has decided to leave band and pursue football this year with J and is looking to join the Marine Corps when he graduates. M has been placed in 7th grade advanced classes, and is tutoring 8th graders on his lunch breaks. There is talk of testing out of the 8th grade next year, we’ll see what happens. Also, how is M already receiving college recruiting emails?
I finally started therapy. Yes, finally. About a year and a half ago I realized that I needed to go and for whatever reason it was put on the back burner and never happened. Well back in November, with some support, I finally decided it was time. For those of you on the fence debating if it’s something you should do or need to do, pick up the phone and make an appointment! Like for real, pause your reading of this post and do it right now, then come back and finish reading of course. The first few weeks were easy getting to know you kind of sessions and then we developed a treatment plan and started getting into the heavy stuff. Without getting into detail, I highly recommend therapy.
I’ve been keeping something to myself and to those close to me. Now before I get into it, just know that this is my life to live. Respectfully. I’ve met someone. His name is Chris. He is kind. He is caring. He is supportive. He is protective. I could write a book on all the ways our paths have unknowingly crossed over the years and the many connections that we have, but that’s our story, and ours alone. If we’re friends on social media, pictures are coming. Chris is an amazing chef and if you’re local to the Jacksonville area and would like to attend one of his cooking classes, let me know.
2022 was full of extreme highs and lows. It was messy and then it was beautiful. 2023 better behave and play nice.
~AMH
My Blooming Life 
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