After years of chasing highs, I moved away from self-destruction and toward self-growth.
Shew.. 11 years.. what a whirlwind it’s been.
October 3, 2011, I left everything and moved myself and the girls across the country (FL ✈️ KY). Moved in with my parents. On October 11, I quit drugs for good. Got a full-time job at AT&T. Made some great friends. Got into a car accident and broke my hand. Moved into our own house. Made some great friends. Reconnected with my mom.
Haylie got in a bike wreck in 2012. Not a lot happened this year. It was pretty uneventful. Hung out with friends and worked A LOT!!
In 2013, quit AT&T to go back to school. Moved into Gabe’s house. Ran some 5Ks. Went to Pennsylvania. Went to my first Steelers game and Troy Polamalu gave me his glove.
Bought a car in 2014. Went skiing. Turned 30. Went to St. Louis. My babies grew up. Went to a Steelers game.
Watched my dad get married in 2015. Coached softball. Went to Maryland. Met Amanda. Went to Vegas. Went to Mexico. Went to another Steelers game.
In 2016, I started subbing at various schools to try to make a name for myself as a teacher. Went to a Steelers game. Played lots of softball. Went to the Arnold. Chopped my hair off. Went to South Carolina. Went parasailing. Went to the Garth concert. Met my nephew Hank. Went to Florida. Started to love myself.
Went to a lot of concerts in 2017. I Love The 90’s.. Brett Young.. Thomas Rhett. Went to Florida. Played even more softball. Graduated college and earned three degrees.
In 2018, got an apartment. Went to Monster Jam. Got diagnosed with mdd and severe anxiety. Played more softball. Went to Florida. Watched my oldest sister get married.
Met Donald in 2019. My babies grew up again. Took three teenage girls to North Carolina by myself. Met my niece Ensley. Had to put Tank down. Went to South Dakota a few times. Got my South Dakota teaching license. Spent part of the summer in SD. Interviewed for some teaching jobs. Donald and his oldest daughter, Isabel, moved across the country, and in with us. Started streaming. Met some pretty amazing people through Mixer & Twitch.
Moved into a house in 2020. Started blogging. Went to DC. Went to Maryland and met some of our online friends. Went to Florida. Went to Virginia. Kendall got her permit. Opened my Etsy shop. I got diagnosed with bipolar, ptsd, and ocd. Donald’s second oldest daughter, Mattea, moved in with us.
In 2021, we went to Maryland. Kendall turned 16. Chopped my hair off again. Got engaged. Took the girls to NC. Kendall got accepted into the craft academy and moved into MSU. Got married. Watched some of my friends get married. Became an Amazon affiliate. Donald’s son, Connor, moved in with us. Got hired as a 5th grade teacher two days before school started. Met those ^^ amazing Twitch friends in person. Had a wedding. Celebrated T•E•N years sober. Went to New York for Friendsgiving. Went to South Dakota for Donald’s sister’s funeral.
In 2022, we went to Knoxville. Kendall won Prom Princess. Had a really rough first year teaching. Haylie turned 16. Went to Pennsylvania. Went to Virginia. Went to South Dakota. Donald’s youngest daughter, Emma, moved in with us. Haylie got accepted into the craft academy and moved into MSU, too. Packed up and moved across the country (again) (KY ✈️ SD). Started painting again.
And here I am.. living. •Actually• living and loving life.
Today, I’m celebrating 11 years clean. E L E V E N years.. 572 weeks.. 4,015 days. That’s crazy to me. I never thought I’d get out, let alone be out for over a decade. I spent eight L O N G years in active addiction.
There IS hope. There IS a way out. You ARE worth it.
We do recover.
Happy anniversary to me 🥳🤗
Aside from my children, THIS is what I’m most proud of. THIS is my biggest accomplishment. If only she could see me now.
Welcome to the Chaos.. 