Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

This week has been spring break for me, and the weather has been wonderful the entire time.  I had promised myself I would sit and work each day, but the sun and the warm temps put all thoughts of work to the back burner. I finally forced myself to spend several hours at my computer yesterday, getting things put into place for the next four weeks of class. Afterwards, I set off for Havana to see if I could spot some birds migrating. While I didn't see many, I had a good hike in the Chautauqua wildlife refuge with Murphy. He's my ride-along buddy wherever I go. He just settles right in and naps the entire time.  Friday was Funny Delightful Son's birthday. He is now 24  years old. All three of my kids have had their birthdays this year, the oldest coming in at 29 and the youngest at 22. When I sit and think about the last 30 years, all that comes to mind is "don't blink." The moments are here then gone so quickly. Don't blink.  Through the week I spent time ...

So, funny story. Last Christmas my husband gave me a wedding band, one that matched his, even though from day one of our marriage I said ix-nay on the wedding band. Trying to be a good sport because it was Christmas after all, I slipped the band on my index finger as that was the only finger it would somewhat stay on. Three days after Christmas, after Lovely Beautiful Daughter and I had gone to the mall where I'd tried on clothes and walked around several stores, after I had removed all the greenery from the window boxes and tossed it to the curb for trash pickup, and after taking down and boxing up all the decorations in the house, I looked down to see the ring was gone. It could have slipped off my finger during any of these activities. Not wanting to say anything to my husband, I went about my day. I called the mall stores to ask if a ring had been found in the changing rooms. I retraced all my steps around the yard to see if I might find the ring glittering in the sun. Be...

Though I didn't get any good news from the lawyer concerning the financial situation, I walked out feeling as if I'm moving forward. I now understand the numbers, where they're coming from, and how it all came to where it is now. My hands are still tied in beginning to pay the amount owed since my husband will not agree and is still appealing, so I can't really do anything yet. But I feel like no matter what happens, I am taking the steps needed to start down the path I want for my life. The one thing the lawyer did take interest in was the fact that one person in the relationship wants to sign the agreement while the other person in the relationship does not. He had never encountered this kind of situation before and is looking into how to proceed with the matter given this. From my perspective, I think my husband is being extremely selfish. He's not the one they'll come after. He's unemployed. He has no income. They'll come after me, the one who has ...