Don't Blink!

Well, life does seem to change rapidly!

In a couple months, there have been some changes in my life.

I am in a relationship which brings its own joys and challenges.

Being the social worker that I am and a completely unique and stubborn person, I had to allow a person to come into my life and bring a new set of complications.

Don't get me wrong, him as himself doesn't complicate my life. I am mostly happy. However, he is Latino. So, all you have to do is turn on the news or click on an online news story to know what complications have entered into my life.

I am using the word complications loosely here.

I have been interested in immigrant issues since moving to Ann Arbor. My apartment complex is probably about 60 to 70 percent Latino in its occupants with a good majority not fluent in English. There is a large Latino immigrant community in my area.

So, when I recently entered into a relationship with a foregin-born Latino man, this pushed me to be more involved.

I have a feeling that I will be doing a lot of posting on immigration issues particular to Latinos.

If you are interested in more information, please feel free to send me a message. There are a couple of blogs I am following who have experienced immigration issues first hand in their families and relationships.

I wonder...

Have you ever been on a walking? While walking, you look at the houses that line the street and wonder what's going on in them. Are they messy like me? Do they have all their dvd's organized and on a shelf? Is there dirty dishes in the sink? Are they watching tv? Reading a book?

I wonder... I don't know if those are the exact thoughts that go through my head. I know I wonder how they have their furniture arranged? Would I have it set up differently?

I think isn't normal to wonder. It is also normal for us to compare. It's just one way for understanding life.

Have you ever watched any of the reality shows where they film in someone's home? Do you think they normally look like that? Do they clean before the film crew comes in? Is it like when you plan on having people over, you quickly scrub the toliet and make sure the dirty clothes makes it into the laundry basket?

Hmmmmm.... I guess I will never know, unless I start knocking on doors and inviting myself in! (And like that's really going to happen.)

What is life without friends...

Well... I couldn't just leave my blog with only an introduction post. So, I am going to talk a little about friends.

I do have to say I have some of the BEST friends in the whole wide world! (Well, at least, I think so!) Did you know friends come in all different shapes, sizes, and even forms! Forms, you say, Yes! forms. There are best friends, good friends, real-life friends, online friends, friends you only see once in a blue moon, work friends, school friends, new friends, and old friends... and the list goes on and on.

Now part of the reason that I say that I have the BEST friends in the whole wide world is because for the most part and most of them are my 'family'. (Now everyone has messed up families, but mine in some aspects just might take the cake or at least the trophy at the pie eating contest. However, this is a topic for many many blogs and I am focusing on friends here!)

Last night, (well technically the night before), after a whole bottle of Asti and sitting home with a child who fell asleep before midnight, I was getting a little bummed about the whole being single and spending New Year's Eve without a significant other. So, I see that one of my online friends is on.

So, I call him on the phone. He is kinda like me... a straight shooter. He definately is tackful, but will tell it how it is. My conversation with him was definately a good thing. He immediately pointed out how it is to be a single parent. (He himself is a single parent of two boys.) So, we can related on this point and he is great to talk to about advice on raising a boy. He also pointed out all the things that I am doing right. (Just a little background information, he is my online friend from a dating/socializing site.) He pointed out that I am the only person from the site that has goals in life and is working hard towards them. He reminded me to focus on my son and school and not worry about meeting someone and not to settle. I know that I am not relating the conversation exactly how it happened but the point is... that he pointed out stuff that I tend to forget, the good stuff. The stuff that gets lost in the struggle of pursuing goals and dreams, in the frustration of being a single parent, and just plain living life with a rusty spoon in your mouth.

It is always good to have the BEST friends in the world to remind you of what you forget to see.

And I shall sign off for now....

Introduction

I assume for my first post that I should introduce myself and say a little about my purpose to writing a blog.

Introductions first... First and foremost, I am a single mother of a wonderful young school-aged boy. I am a graduate student in a Masters program (and hopefully within the next year or so a doctoral student). My political views range from liberal to conservative, but basically fall somewhere around the middle like most Americans. I like many single mothers am in search for 'love' but am independent enough to be okay without it. I am heading into my 30s but it doesn't scare me. However, mostly, I feel like I have experienced a lot of life, but still have so much more to learn.

As I may have hinted at in describing myself, I hope with this blog to talk not only about myself, but my experiences. I hope to in part some kind of twisted wisdom or insight to those that read this. I have no doubt that my posts will be riddled with typos and grammatical errors. I also know that I may not completely be able to put into words coherently my thoughts, but I will do my best. My posts will range from life, love, and daily nonsense. One day I may post some deep life question that I have been pondering over, another day it might be a topic discussed in one of my graduate classes, the next day it could be my joys or frustrations at being a single parent, or could be one incident in the long saga of my pursuit of love.

All I know is that I hope that my words reach out to someone... And please let me know if they do!