Writer's Workshop: Here's The Story....

Writer's Workshop!  Today I chose the prompt Describe where you were when you met a boy.

I don't think I've ever told the story of how David and I met.  So, here it is.

David first saw me in a bowling alley.  It was late.  My friends and I had decided to go cosmic bowling.  In case you don't know, cosmic bowling is where they crank up the music, turn off the light, turn on black lights and the pins and balls glow.  It's usually late into the night, between 10PM and usually ending around 2AM.  It's so much fun.  I haven't gone in years, but it was awesome.

David said he saw me laughing with my friends, and said I looked like a cute/fun girl.  I didn't know he was there.  He had come to talk to a mutual friend of ours.  And, even if we had met that night, nothing would have come of it.  I was in a very committed relationship and had been for the last 2 years.

Fast forward 5 months.  My relationship had ended.  My friend picked me up one night.  We had planned to go cosmic bowling.  Since I was almost 6 months past my 18th birthday, he asked me if I'd like to go meet one of his friends.  I asked why I needed to be 18 to meet his friend.  He said I'd see why.

We pulled up in front of an unassuming brown brick building.  The door was tinted black.  There were big letters in white that read 'Adult Shoppe' and 'No Persons Under 18 Permitted'.  My friend had brought me to an adult store.  He opened the door and we went inside.  I was pulling out my ID when he said, "Chantel, this is David."  I looked up and there he was.  He checked my ID, and we all chatted for a bit.  In all honesty, I don't remember feeling anything "special" for David that night.  A few days later, my friend called and said that David wanted to talk to me and gave me his number at work.  David worked late into the night, and was frequently bored at work.  He won many radio contests for this reason.  I called David and told him that our friend had said that he wanted to speak with me.  He said, "I didn't say that.  But since you called, would you like to go out on Tuesday?"  I accepted.

And that, is how our relationship started.  And that's how I met a boy.  My husband to be exact.

Catching Up: Easter

We celebrated our first Easter in our new home with.  Colored eggs, chocolate bunnies and fights over who got what during the search...Isn't that what it's all about? (sarcasm)

The day before Easter, I boiled the eggs, set everything up and let the kids have at it.  And Teddy, because he just has to get in there and check everything out.



There was a lot of waiting.



A lot of laughing.



And in the end, a rainbow of brightly colored eggs.




After the kids were in bed, I set up their baskets.



And checked out the chocolate bunnies that my grandmother had sent for us, including the bunnies for my brother and I that were, of course, missing the ears.  As always.



The next day, they woke up, ready for the hunt.  And they were going to find those eggs, no matter WHAT!



Why, yes.  Yes that is my brother, who opted to sleep on the couch instead of Ethan's room, and was climbed all over in the quest for eggs.

Once all the eggs were found, we sat at the table while the kids dug through their baskets and had a breakfast of Easter eggs and toast (and maybe just a tiny bit of chocolate bunny).



It was such a fun day, and I'm so happy my brother was here to spend it with us.  He did eventually make his way off the couch.

Just Sayin'

Recently I read an article about a mother who was removed as a den mother in Ohio because she's gay.  And the comments on the article shocked me.  One in particular was about how sad it was for the boy to grow up with a mother who wanted to be a man.  It was actually much more callously put, but I'd rather not repeat it.

So, here I am, to tell my story.

When I was 10, my brother and I were removed from my mother's care.  The extreme details as to why are not important, but suffice to say, the situation we were in was not safe, but my mother is healthy, and happy now, and my brother and I have a very close and loving relationship with her.  At the time, my father was asked to take custody of us, but he and his new wife said that they didn't want us, so my grandmother (Shaq Lovin' Grandma) came to the table and said she would take us.

She signed us up for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  She chaperoned field trips.  She took us shopping.  She oversaw slumber parties and tried to explain basketball to no avail.  When my brother was 10 and I was 12, he moved in with my paternal grandparents.  I stayed with my grandma.

Sure, it sounds like any normal family, except for the fact that my grandma lived with and loved a woman.  When we first moved in, she was in a very committed and long term relationship with her partner, and she and her partner accepted us into their fold.  When my brother left our home, they quietly broke up, just like other couples do.

I grew up and my grandma met boyfriends.  She took me shopping for dresses for dances, chaperoned dates, gave rides to the mall, helped mend broken hearts and loved me for me.  She showed up at every school event I ever had.  I never once felt like I didn't get my fair shake in the world.  I learned how to do my makeup, I learned how to do my hair, I never felt like I missed out on having a father, because mine gave up on me when I needed him.

The only difference I had growing up was that my grandmother dated women.  I watched women pick her up for dates and I watched her get ready to pick up other women for dates.  I met very few of her dates because just like any single parent, she was protective of me and who I saw coming to the home if they weren't long term partners.

Today, I am a very happy 29 year old woman with a family of my own, and I owe a large part of that to my grandma.  If she hadn't spoken up and taken me, who knows where I would be today.