Meet “Mimi”

Hello there! My name is Kim and I welcome you to my blog! I am a Christian wife, mom, grandma, who is learning how to get back to basics after years of working outside the home.

I recently quit my 9 – 5 job and am enjoying a peace that I haven’t enjoyed since my children were little. It was scary to take this step financially, but God has been so good!

My decision to quit was based on health reasons – mental health reasons to be exact. When I turned 40 I entered the not-so-pleasant world of depression. I am little-Miss-I-can-fix-it-by-myself and figured I could change a few things in my life and all would be copacetic. That was not the case. I quit and started 2 different jobs, lost a lot of friends, had a house that looked and smelled like an episode of the all popular “Hoarders”, and a family that suffered a ton of collateral damage. It actually took my neighbor coming to check on me after receiving a frantic call from my husband because he couldn’t reach me from work to get me to realize that I was not fixing this problem – it was only getting worse. Said neighbor is a tough cookie and she beat on the door to wake me from sleeping (that is all I wanted to do at the time), she fixed me a cup of tea, shared some “verbal” tough love, and then insisted that I call Chestnut Ridge Counseling for an appointment or she was going to become my worst living nightmare.

Since then, I did counseling, have been on 6 different meds, started and stopped 2 jobs (again), gained almost 100 lbs, renewed my relationship with Jesus, and am now working on going off my current meds just to see if I am past the depression and ready to live as “me” again.

I am very active in my church – I lead a ladies’ Bible study twice a month, organize a quarterly ladies’ luncheon, am the audio/video person for my church (working on training some others to help), administer our church’s website and Facebook page and Twitter.

In addition, I administer 2 community pages on Facebook for the two local towns that I live between. I love to read, watch old movies, relax on my porch swings, crochet, walk, do crafts, and help others with social media for their businesses or for personal use.

Now enough about me! I want to share with you the important things in my life that keep me getting up every day. . .

My husband: I have been happily married to the most wonderful man for 25 years. We will actually celebrate our 25th anniversary this September 11th. Even though my husband is not a Christian, I know that God sent him to me when I was living as a single mom. Donnie accepted me and my 1-year-old son and willing took on the role of instant dad. I am learning how to be the wife he never had but thoroughly deserved these past 25 years. I am learning to submit to my husband, treat him like the gift from God that he is, and be his true help meet. My hope is that by living out my Christian witness to him, covered with lots of prayer, will bring him to know Christ as his Lord and Savior.

My children: My son, Garry but nicknamed “Bubba” by my dad, has been and will always be my baby boy. He and I went through a lot together his first year of life – we grew up together! He is my sensitive, compassionate one. I worry that he will go through depression one day because of his soft-heartedness. He was a riot growing up – I was always getting phone calls from the school to come and get him for one reason or another. He was not evil-bad, just cute, funny, ornery bad. Now he is out on his own with his only little family. He has made me very proud.

My daughter, Jessica, is my baby girl. She is my independent, stubborn one. She and I butted heads on everything – and I mean EVERYTHING, lol! She was like a little mama, always telling ME what to do. She kept me hopping when she was still at home – Brownies, Girl Scouts, dancing, band, volleyball, proms (way too many proms!), and on and on. She married a Marine (a friend from high school) and moved away from me to Jacksonville, NC. She has made me proud by how quickly she become a grown up woman. My heart breaks for her now because she is going through a divorce. My mom’s heart wants her to come home so I can take care of her, but that is not her plan. She is going to stay in NC and make a life she says.

My grandchildren: Maddie, who is 8, is part of my son’s blended family. She is one smart cookie! She loves to do stuff – all kinds of stuff – and is very curious. She is part tomboy and part girl. She plays softball and takes dance classes. She, too, is a little mama and is always wanting to help me with her brother when I am watching both of them. I try very hard to treat her as my own granddaughter because I know first hand how difficult it can be for little ones to accept to being in a blended family.

Gauge is my 3-year-old grandson and is the eye of his Pap-pap’s eye. He is lovable and cuddly one minute and then all boy getting into something the next minute. At the age of three, he loves to challenge authority, hates to pick up his toys, and never wants to stop long enough to eat right. He keeps me hopping during the week when I watch him. I can image what summer is going to be like when I have both, lol! I will be praying for an extra dose of strength and patience!

My furbabies: We also share our home with 2 dogs, Bella & Buddy and five cats, Sondra, Millie, Simon, Cheeto, and Lenny. I have always had pets from the time I was little and they add so much to your life – they love unconditionally and are a great comfort when you are feeling down or sick. Of course, they do add a lot of fur to the house!

My goals for 2012: I have a lot of goals to accomplish this year. Here is a list of them that I am working on, but not necessarily in this order:

Reclaiming my home as a comfortable welcoming place to live and visit.
Weaning off of antidepressants with no complications and no need to go back on them.
Learning from other Christian women how to be a better wife, mother, grandmother, friend, mentor, etc.
Losing some weight so that I can better serve my Lord, my husband, and my family and friends.
Becoming financially fit and a better steward of our money AND working towards becoming debt-free.
Plant a garden! I used to garden all the time but work took that joy away from me. I have visions of fresh tomato sandwiches on toast with mayo – yummy!
Changing the way I cook – getting back to home-cooked healthy meals instead of cardboard boxed meals.
Most important, growing closer to God by reading and studying the Bible more and then applying what I learn to my life and sharing with others.

Well, that is me in a nutshell . . . a nut!

Please be sure to leave a comment or two. I love hearing from others and meeting new friends! If you would like to keep up with The Grandma Blog, please sign up for email updates at the top of the right hand column.

Now, join me on my journey back to the simple life . . .