What A Year - 2011 In Review

2011 was an amazing year for me. It brought me peace. Peace was something that lacked for a long time. Growth is painful and I had my growing pains over the years as I have started to evolve into the best person I can be.

I knew 2011 was going to be a different kind of year when I was in labor with my daughter. My ex-husband who I had a difficult relationship with since 2008 showed me the hatchet was truly buried for good. He did this when he was the one who drove me to the hospital after coming to pick up our boys and asked me if I needed him to stay. This may seem like a small gesture but he had no obligation to do that. My daughter is not his child. He could easily have picked up our children and said see you later. I didn't need him to stay but was very appreciative of the gesture and the ride.... if I had needed to wait for a cab there is a good chance my daughter would have been born at home or in the cab because my labor was that fast. There have been many other goodwill gestures and I am appreciative of them all. I forgive the past and look forward to a cooperative partnership as parents in the continuing years. I am at peace with getting divorced and resolve that in 2012 the finalization papers will be signed.

With the birth of my daughter I also forged a good co-parenting with my daughters Father. Going our separate ways during my pregnancy I was unsure of what sort of co-parenting relationship we would have. He has been a model co-parent who always supports his daughter financially and emotionally.

2011 also marked the end of friendships that were no longer healthy additions to my life. In that time other friendships have been rekindled or strengthened. Every person in my journey has contributed to my growth and I am grateful for every experience and every lesson they have taught me.

It was also the first year of my life since I was a teenager that I did not have any sort of romantic relationship with anyone. Not to say I have not been looking but I am comfortable enough and confident in myself to be alone and not just put myself with any warm body that comes my way. That is a good feeling.

So most of the good things about 2011 focus around parenting and I am OK with that because that is what is most important to me at this time.

2012 I resolve to:

Finally sign those divorce papers.

Make a better effort to declutter things I no longer need or use. Work harder at keeping my home tidier.

Continue to increase my daughters parenting time with her Father which will enable me to have more time to myself to continue pursuing to become the best person I can be.

Make a better effort to stay away from dramatic situations and people. Work more on facing problems (as I do already) without facebooking it.

Let go of past defunct friendships. I will not keep "friends" in my life who continually blow me off and do not make an effort to maintain a real friendship. Social networking has been an amazing tool for connection but it has also made people very lazy in maintaining relationships.

Wishing you all the best in 2012! May it be a positive year with much love and good fortune! Bless.

I leave you with my theme song of 2011.

When friends collide via social networking.....

What is it about the anonymity of the internet that turn's average everyday people into online trolls? The other day I innocently posted an article about the Duggar's miscarrying. I thought I would get opinions here and there but was not prepared for what transpired. A few of my friends were no less than completely offensive and actually seemed to intentionally trying to upset other friends that were strangers to them. It was a train wreck and I ended up deleting the post. I thought that would be the end. I thought for sure it would be over because I spoke to the offending friends and asked them not to do it anymore.

I was wrong. I can home to the longest juvenile conversation on my facebook wall that seemed to be intentionally trying to get a reaction and make fun of anyone who had been offended by their actions the day before. Also posting that I should of known better than to think they would not do that. I was so upset. Why would my friend's betray me like that? Why were they purposely being unkind? They already knew I found it unfunny. To put it simply I was just plain disappointed in them. What if I lost friend's because of their actions?

I thought long and hard about what I should do. I have the newest facebook and just hiding my wall seem's to be impossible. I considered deactivating my account for a week in hope these friend's would get the point but that did not seem right. I spoke to them again and told them again expressing my discontent. I just don't even think they understood really and I could not have them doing it again. It is one thing to not care what people think about you and it is another thing to intentionally act like a jerk. My ultimate decision was to unfriend the offending people, although I have kept some on twitter. I am sure they think I hate them but ultimately I just cannot have them trolling my facebook. It was sad it came to that but I feel at this point it was the right choice.