A bit about me...

I'm November. You can call me Ember, if you'd like. I'm using a pseudonym for now. Maybe one day I'll feel able to open up a little more. My kids are Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3. I also have The Husband and The Roomie.

I'm tinkering with the blog a bit, so you may see changes from time to time.

I have chosen to live a life with no regrets. For the most part, that has served me well; I view my  experiences, positive or negative, as something to learn from. Not all have been pleasant, but I move forward.

In Autumn 2009 we moved our family from Texas to the Appalachian region of the US to live with my parents and help them out around the house, as well as to be mutually encouraging toward one another on a religious level. We were all practicing Jehovah's Witnesses. I was raised as one from the age of 3, The Husband was born in. (His parents were JWs before he was born.)

As it turned out, the situation became unstable, in part because of our changing religious beliefs, and we moved out in Summer of 2011.

In October 2010, due to an INSANE amount of stress related to maintaining 2 households (mine & my parents), and taking an anti-depressant that has since been linked to making people homicidal (Prozac), I spent a week in a mental health facility and then another 4-5 months in an intense therapy program. This is when I was diagnosed with ADHD and bi-polar disorder.

During that time, and for a bit before, The Husband had been questioning our religious upbringing and beliefs. Unbeknownst to him, I had questioned it, as well, for a very long time. We were taught that to question those beliefs, we were bad people and not to be trusted. We were also taught never to speak of doubts about the religion to others, so The Husband & I didn't discuss it with each other until early this year.

We struggled for a few months, attending the meetings sporadically, and hating every minute of it. I would regularly have anxiety attacks just figuring out what to wear that day, let alone actually showing up and being present. I've also had anxiety attacks while in attendance.

In the Spring, there is a worldwide event for this religion that everyone attends. This is known as The Memorial of Christ's Death and it is the ONLY observational/celebratory event for the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is scandalous if you don't attend! We managed to attend, but that was the last time we went to any meetings at all, as a family. Looking at our picture of The Husband and I that night, you can see we didn't want to be there. I did go one other time for an announcement involving my dad. He was disfellowshipped, no longer considered part of the congregation. I didn't really care, but I still cried, knowing it was a life altering decision affecting him & my mother, who is still a devout believer.

In mid summer of 2011, The Husband and I moved from my parents house, in Appalachia, back to Texas. It seemed nothing was working for us in this plan to move and when we finally DID manage to move, it was literally with the clothing on our backs & whatever we could fit in the car & the overhead storage bin. For a family of 5 and 2 cats, let me assure you that it wasn't nearly enough. We stored everything in a storage unit near my parents' house and my brother has one of 2 keys. I trust him with our belongings more than I trust my mother.

My mother left my father after we moved away because she feels that she is spiritually endangered by staying with him, despite the fact that he does not stop her from or harass her about studying or going to meetings. She has repeatedly asked to buy my daughter's beautiful white bed (in storage) for use in her new apartment and I have repeatedly told her NO, it is NOT for sale. It's brand new & Thing 2 only used it a few months before storing it. Why would I give up my daughters brand new bed??? It's her first piece of GOOD furniture that can last her for years. Ugh. Anyway....

In addition to moving with only what fit in the car, we also moved with nowhere to live. We stayed with friends in North Texas for 2 or 3 nights, then with family in Central Texas for a week, then with family in South Texas for 2 weeks (they were out of town for one of those weeks), then in a motel for 2 or 3 nights. FINALLY, we found a place available and moved in. It's a bit ghetto, but it's big enough for our family (a little tight since the addition of The Roomie) and it's not forever.

When we moved in, the in-laws gave us a queen size bed, a couple of air mattresses, a couch, & some household items which was ENORMOUSLY helpful! A client of The Husband was also helpful in the furniture department. His children have all grown and moved on, so he & his wife were cleaning house and gave us beds as well as a set of living room furniture and 2 desks. We've furnished the kitchen almost exclusively from the local thrift stores, which has been just fine with us. We now have everything but a kitchen table, but a heavy duty folding table is doing the job just fine for now.

Living with such minimal belongings for a time was freeing, somehow. I still have much in storage that I'm missing and need/want, but we'll get it eventually. We have plans to move into a house in February and I'm looking forward to that. Once we're settled, The Husband will fly up to Appalachia and bring our belongings back. Including my daughter's beautiful white bed.