Archive for the ‘Daniel’ Category

« Older Entries

better together.

Monday, June 11th, 2012

What was your hardest parenting or partner moment? – Dana

I’ve thrown a cheeseburger at Daniel’s head while he was driving 80 mph on the freeway. I’d say that was a low point in our relationship. On our honeymoon, I stopped playing Scrabble “because I didn’t feel like it” and that almost caused a rip in the space-time continuum. And our muddled attempt at communication for the first few years of our marriage was downright hysterical. His Aspie traits and my desire to control everything tried to tango and let me tell you, it doesn’t work.

Most of that can be chalked up to naivety, youth, and DANIEL DOING ALL THE WRONG THINGS my need to learn to chill.

The hardest moment in our relationship was when I suffered with depression. We felt alone, scared, and uncertain about the black cloud that always followed me. Daniel yearned to fix the problem. I wanted to be able to simply breathe.

We found a few moments of calm in the storm and I will always treasure those. It was comforting to remind each other that we were on the same team and that we’d get through whatever hell this was. And we did. Bravely. And on the other side of that dark chapter, we’re better together.

Posted in Daniel | Comments Closed

the art of the everyday.

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

It’s been awhile, dear reader.

It hasn’t bothered me a bit to step away from the blog and enjoy the beginning of Spring. That is, it didn’t bother me until I started Spring cleaning Drew’s bedroom closet and sorted through his clothes that are too small and found pictures of a tiny person who is tall and knows so much about Space. Daniel and I may have spent a few evenings on the couch watching videos of our tiny offspring toddle around the house in Carlisle. I cried. There may have been squealing.

Sure, it’s annoying to hear “they grow up so fast so enjoy it” while you are rubbing your expecting tummy but Really. They do.

I love finding my son sprawled on his almost-too-small-bed with legs dangling precariously off the edge. Lego helicopters smushed under blankets and piles and piles of cars lumped under the pillow. He spends considerable time at his easel drawing “blueprints” and then pulls the tunnel from his closet, sets up blocks, activates magical powers, and then presents us his own creative Mythbusters Worthy™ unchained reactions. He uses SkyView on my iPhone and runs through the hall locating Venus, the Sun, and talking about how constellations are so beautiful because they are shapes in the stars.

So, I’ve enjoyed delving into living and my lil’ blog has yawned for a bit. And before I know it, I’m walking downtown with a munchkin who is getting Tall Like His Daddy and I stumble and tear up and think where did time go?

Chronicling our lives not only gives me incredible joy but it encourages me so much to see where we are NOW compared to where we WERE.

We had some dark days in our early marriage. Depression, heartache, pure confusion, trying to understand Asperger’s in marriage, letting go of our faith, tight finances, and discouraging days that echod the annoying drip from the kitchen sink.

And all that fighting. Ugh. I remember my dad giving me an exasperated look at the kitchen table one day and saying, “well, Jennifer, you need to grow up. Just stop fighting.” I was upset at his obvious conclusion that our fighting was just immaturity. Maybe it was that we needed to understand more about Apserger’s. Or maybe my dad was right.

All I know is that about a week ago, Daniel caught me eye and grinned and said, “hey, remember when we used to fight all the time?” I gasped! We haven’t fought in…a year or so? We can’t even remember when we stopped. Maybe we grew up? Maybe we figured out how to just let each other breathe and be human? Maybe I stopped being a control freak? HAHA that can’t be it.

But we really are so happy now. We love living in Whitmore Lake. Michigan has been way more wonderful than I could have imagined. I love seeing how fulfilled Daniel is in his career. I finally feel at peace with who I am and the choices I am making. I have fallen in love with reading again (I am carefully balancing it with Skyrim, of course) and I’m even fitting into clothes that I had packed away in a Yeah Right box.

So, I’m going to try my hand at keeping this space updated more frequently. When I’m old and gray, this silly little blog about the art of the everyday will be gold. To me. And maybe to those who love me.

Posted in Daniel, Drew, The Everyday | Comments Closed

comic book heroes.

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

Posted in Daniel | Comments Closed

new places, saying goodbye, and celebrating.

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011

This weekend we started the process for finding a new place to live. Our lease isn’t up for a few months so this will all take some time. But it was quite fun to explore Whitmore Lake and Brighton. I saw a lake completely frozen for the first time in my life and there were people skating all over it and I swooned over and over. I think I really, really want to live around Whitmore Lake.

When we stumbled across Mt. Brighton (about 12 minutes away from Whitmore Lake) and realized there was skiing, I immediately knew that Steve and Cassidy needed to know about this place. They love snow boarding and I had no idea that this place existed. I’m so wiggly about learning to ski and snow board!

We still want to rent for the time being and found a beautiful apartment (much bigger than our current one!) that will be our plan B. Plan A is a house or a town home. The town homes we’ve seen so far are too small and the houses we’ve seen haven’t been too impressive either. But hopefully we’re talking with a real estate agent this week and will see some better houses soon.

~

If you live in South Carolina, you’re probably aware that the bank I helped start a few years ago just got closed by the FDIC on Friday evening. I was an emotional mess on Friday night. To be frank, I was really shocked to be so weepy about it all (some if it may be because I’ve been off my thyroid meds for a week now – I have GOT to get that filled this weekend) but I just couldn’t stop crying.

I had an amazing experience with that bank and I have such incredibly wonderful memories.

I remember being a drive-thru teller at Carolina First in 2004 and watching A. walk around and the hushed whispers that he was starting a new bank. I remember the conversation when D. asked if I wanted to jump on board. And the interview that was supposed to happen with A. ended up happening with J. and the rest is history. I ventured into Operations and did everything from filing stock information, to installing toilets, to helping decide what the bank debit card would look like. I remember the late night working, learning to manage the network, reports-reports-reports, and the pure adrenaline we all ran on as we tried so hard to do our best. And we did.

We moved from that temporary office to a modular building and then eventually to that beautiful building on Hwy 123. I went from being the Operations Assistant to the Operations and HR Administrator – and really, I was just figuring it all out as I went. Suddenly our little team of hard-workers grew and I met SO many people and we became a real family. The bank was voted Best Bank in the Upstate many times and between their free chocolate chip cookies and extremely wonderful customer service – they just charmed everyone.

When I left in October of ’06, I was leaving to write a children’s book. And then two weeks later, I found out that Daniel and I were expecting a baby. The hardest part was leaving J. I get teary just thinking about it. He was an incredibly hard worker and taught me SO much about behind-the-scenes-banking. Between just our everyday working, our philosophical conversations – he was just the best boss ever. And when I think about heading back into the work force at some point after Drew is in school, I always think I’ll compare every boss I have to J.

(What made all of this more emotional was that Friday night was our anniversary and that evening five years ago, all of my co-workers from the bank had been at our wedding.)

I’m really glad that there isn’t too much drama happening with the change – everyone’s money is safe, I think most people are keeping their jobs, and hopefully the bank who is purchasing them will have more opportunities for everyone. But I’m still sad that my bank is gone. I can’t imagine the stress that the employees are under right now and I just wish I could give them all a big hug.

RIP dear bank. I loved you. You were beautiful to me and I will cherish those memories. You taught me about working hard and dreaming big.

~

Last night Daniel and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by hitting up some Italian food. We reminisced about meeting each other six years ago. The first time I saw him in the airport when he flew down from Maryland to take me to dinner (which was Italian as well) and then when he played the piano for me. And then flew back home. All in the same evening. I was swept off my feet for sure. 🙂

We talked about how much has changed in our lives since we got married and we laughed and I did cry a bit as well. When we were curled up on Amelia Island, we had no idea that we’d be here, and that we’d be so very different. We toasted to the next chapter of our lives and then rushed to catch a movie.

And then came home to play cards and get craaazy with Steve and Cassidy. I’m surprised we didn’t wake Drew.

~

All in all, a great weekend! Albeit an emotional one.

Posted in Daniel, The Everyday, The Friends | Comments Closed

gaming, nerd-love, and warcraft.

Friday, February 27th, 2009

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by computer games. It’s the nerd in me. It started with The Oregon Trail (I’m still SO FUSSY that I can’t play it on my Mac with 10.5) and then I fell in love with a sailing-to-the-new-world type of game. I can’t remember the name of it (Mom, I think it’s still in your floppy drives box at the house, hehe) but it was something about discovery. I played this game for HOURS upon HOURS all throughout junior high, high school, and yes, even college. I also enjoyed various CD Rom games that you could easily purchase at your neighborhood office supply store. You know, the lame ones.

But it wasn’t until I discovered the amazing games from Maxis that I realized I was a gaming nerd. I’ve played SimCity and all of The Sims games. And my favorite, up to this point, has been The Sims 2 (I’m eagerly awaiting The Sims 3). Of course, I like to say that I play it for the architecture but come on, it’s also fun to make your characters dance like chickens whenever you want them to.

I fell in love with Neopets. Embarrassingly. And yes, I still have an account there. And my little pet, proudly, has TONS of money.

There is also a distant memory of Kerry and I curled up in an A-frame cabin at The Wild’s, playing Myst for hours. That was my first introduction to the game and OH MY WORD. I absolutely LOVED it. I still do. We even have the Myst novels. I bet you didn’t even know there were novels.

I’ve tried Second Life. It was fun for about a week. But I got tired of it, or perhaps just never really understood it.

It’s really awesome that I married another nerd. For so many reasons. But gaming is one of the big ones. We both LOVE to sit for hours and game and snort and laugh and share and pretty much nerd it up. Our poor children will have very little social skills but they will be able to say “hai ur mai friendz. lol. omg. kthxbyz.” No, really, we’ve banned chat speak in our home. Drew will actually have to get down on the floor and LAUGH OUT LOUD for REALZ for it to be acceptable.

But even though we both love gaming, we are oh so different when it comes to strategy. You see, Daniel loves to explore and wander through worlds and strike out on his own. And I love to sit on the couch, balancing my laptop and strategy guides very carefully.

YES. I USE THEM. IS THAT SO BAD?

I’ve never played a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) before. That is, until World of Warcraft. I’ve always assumed it was a blood and gore, shoot ’em up, and pointless except for body counts.

But I got intrigued and downloaded a trial copy. And pretty much fell in love. Blizzard has done an amazing job of making a fabulous world (or well, worlds) with quests to complete and friendships to forge and enemies to slap upside the head (okay, to KILL DEAD).

My main character (I have three right now) is Faerlanna, a Blood Elf. Don’t make fun of her name, please. I thought it was sooo cool at the time. Now I think it sounds like her parents named her after, I don’t know, a brain freeze?

I’ve enjoyed exploring Eversong Woods and the capital city, Silvermoon. But Ghostlands is a bit weird. Beautiful, but weird.

When I reached level 10 (I’m at 18 right now), I tamed a crazed dragonhawk, Ella, and she has truly helped me out of some scrapes. We are a team now.

The most interesting piece of this story is that Daniel and I have discovered that we game SO differently. We created two characters, hoping we could adventure together. But we’ve had FIGHT after FIGHT over where we are going to go and what we are going to kill first and he’s tired of my strategies and I’m tired of his adventuring forth into the unknown when I might get KILLED.

The fights ended and turned into snorting. Seriously. Are we actually fighting about which farm we are going to ransack next?

We are Such Nerds.

And I, for one, am a girly nerd who is somehow having to work into my day of mommying, housework, and ordinary life – time to bash zombies, monsters, and wicked, wicked Alliance enemies.

Posted in Daniel, The Everyday | Comments Closed

« Older Entries