Starting Afresh! --Sticky Post
Hello. I'm Kelly, and I'm actually not a stranger to LiveJournal. I used to be very active here under another username, but I got pulled away from it due to work, personal issues, and (I'm sad to say) FaceBook. Now that I'm not working, I plan to journal here a lot more because I have more time for it and fewer distractions. For those of you who don't know me, let me share a little more about myself.
I'm a 55-year-old widow living in northeast Ohio with my youngest son, Jonathan. I was married to Ed for 27 years. He was from south-central Michigan, and I'm from here in northeast Ohio. We met at college in Pensacola, Florida, married in August 1991, and lived here in northeast Ohio for a year before moving permanently back to his hometown in 1992. We separated in July 2017, but we never divorced. Our marriage was stormy, and it hurts me to talk about it. Sometimes I can discuss it, but other times it's just too much for me. If I can talk about it, I'll share more on another day. Ed passed away in 2018 due to complications from diabetes and emphysema, about a year after I moved back to northeast Ohio.
Ed and I had three sons: Eddie, 27; David, 26; and Jonathan, 23. Eddie is autistic and currently living with Ed's parents because he doesn't want to leave Michigan. David is married to my beautiful daughter-in-law, Anna, and they live in a town not far from Eddie. They help to care for elderly animals in addition to their regular jobs. Jonathan lives with me and helps to support me.
I have suffered with fibromyalgia most of my life, but it wasn't a well-known disease until the late 1990s and early 2000s. I was officially diagnosed in 2003 by my primary care doctor. I've been doing my best to support myself and my kids these past 20 years, but this past February, I hit the proverbial brick wall. Even though I'd reduced my hours to part-time, I found that even part-time was too much for me to handle with my condition, so I left my job. It was a hard thing to do, as I loved my work (I was the medical records custodian for a local OB/GYN practice.) A couple of days later, Jonathan was let go from his job. It's been very difficult to keep our heads above water but the Lord has been good to us. We have qualified for help with food, and Jonathan is pounding the pavement looking for work. We pray he'll be able to land a job soon.
Another point of interest is that I'm a born-again Christian. I'm aware that born-again Christians have a very bad reputation due to some in our faith who are pushy, highly judgmental, and hypercritical of others. Some people in our faith openly condemn people that don't follow their principles. Please know that the majority of people in my faith strongly disagree with those tactics. I personally believe that the Bible, as well as Christ Jesus, instructs us to be loving, kind, and supportive. I also believe that everyone has the right to free choice; that is actually a Biblical principle. Jesus never forced Himself on anyone, but He let them choose if they wanted to believe in Him or not. On that note, I believe that every choice has a consequence, no matter how big or small it is. When we make that choice, we accept the consequence that goes with it, whatever that might be. So while I don't agree with homosexuality, transgenderism, pedophilia, and other organizations that promote thugs, stealing, and violence, I respect people's right to choose those things. Just don't ever require me to be okay with those things or to endorse them. I don't live by human standards. I live by Biblical standards, and I stick to them closely. I won't judge you, condemn you, or criticize you for your choices, so please don't do that to me.
Finally, I'd like to lay down some boundaries when it comes to my journal. I ask that you be polite and respectful, not just to me, but also to my friends who will join me here. There may be times when I talk about a subject and open it up for discussion; I ask that you show respect in your tone and your words. Do not attack people because they believe differently than you do. I will delete comments and block users who get abusive. And since this is my page, I will decide what is abusive; that will be anything that qualifies as verbal abuse, name calling, threats, put-downs, minimizing someone's feelings, and generally being a lousy jerk. In the past, I had to block such people, so I won't hesitate to do so again.
I would like for this journal to be a place where friends can meet over coffee or tea, share their lives, their feelings, their activities, and just fellowship with each other. So many of us live scattered around the globe, that this is a good place to come together and enjoy each other's company. Let's make it as relaxed and enjoyable as possible.
Always,
Kelly