Thoughts

R and I went to the retirement party last night. It was more fun than I expected, met a lot of people who remembered me as the woman who brought baby E to their office last year (it seems everyone at R's office was done having kids, or has yet to hit that point in their lives). I sat next to a woman who's had three careers, first as a stay at home mom, followed by a paralegal, and now a third grade teacher. I also spoke with a woman who's a social worker for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. I feel much more at ease about what I'm doing professionally, or not doing as the case may be. If and when I use my degree, that'll be great. If I branch off into something else, that's okay too. The important thing is that I take care of myself.

I bring this up because two days ago, I learned my mom finally served (after 3 year of drama) my dad with divorce papers. It's already looking like its going to be a messy split. Talks about sacrifice, staying at home all those years, standing by spouses, its enough to make anyone go nuts. It all transfers into how much time is worth, why we do what we do, and all the possible outcomes. It definitely increases my determination to take myself into consideration when making family decisions-so often I wonder if I soley do what's best for the kids or for R. I don't want to lose sight of what I need to do to make sure I'll be okay-because one day the kids will grow up, while I hope R and I are never apart, seeing my parents split after 30+ years of marriage, rising from nothing into something, and then back again, I know to never say never.
Not eactly something I want to think about, but I don't want to ever be blindsided.

Talking about the retirement party had started off as precurser to talking about weekend plans, but ventured off into something else. I'll write another post about it later, maybe after our family picnic this afternoonn. Or tonight in between dinner, baths, and bed. Let it be said, I definitely feel like I have a full plate on my hands.