So...We are there.  We are in the new "Big" City!    Phoenix is actually the Nation's 5th largest city.  However, it doesn't really feel like a "true" big city because it is not as congested as other large cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, or even San Francisco.  Phoenix is spread out and then you have all of the smaller little cities or towns that surround Phoenix however, when speaking to someone who is from the area you will hear them refer to being from Phoenix or the "Valley" rather than stating they are from Avondale or Glendale.   As I p ..read more

 Now that the three of us are in Phoenix, now what?  It is funny when I watch TickTock and see clips about Gen Xers not giving a fuck about anything and not being scared of anything.  It is so true!  We grew up differently and my two friends and I fit right smack dap within the description of what a Gen Xer is.  I mean, we just hit "adulthood" and traveled from small towns in upper Michigan and the U.P. and drove to Arizona by ourselves, eating spaghetti-o's and fruit cocktails from the can so we didn't have to spend money on food and doing so in a two-seater car with ..read more

 Stevie was one of the siblings to who I was the closest growing up.  I was closest to him because we kept more in touch with him than my other siblings.  I didn’t really meet my other siblings until I was an adult. I really don't know the reason, and I was a kid.  I don’t know if I asked or not.  When I think about it Stevie and I really weren't that close.  I really don't know if he enjoyed coming to our house to visit or if he was forced to do so.  I don't know why he came around when he did.  He didn't call too often.  I remember my Grandma as ..read more

 This morning as I was walking my dog when my memories started.  Sometimes I know what will trigger a memory of my past and my Mom.  Sometimes it is a certain smell, or when I am looking at jewelry.  I remember her loving turquoise with silver.  She wore the big turquoise rings and silver bracelets.  Not sure why she wore so many rings because unfortunately, our genes did not pass down the beautiful long thin fingers like you may see some women have.  Sometimes a trigger may be me seeing someone walk similar to the way my Mom walked.  I actually had a fr ..read more

 Three girls from small towns in Michigan, only 18 and 19 years old, did the craziest, scariest, and funniest thing a girl our age could do.  Packed up what we could put in a "trunk" of a Fiero and headed out.  When we were driving through Chicago and getting on and off our first "big city" on-and-off ramp, this one completed a full circle.  I was driving; it was dark, and I was scared as hell to drive on that ramp.  We all screamed the entire time we were on the ramp.     Our plan was to drive all of the ways through to Phoenix.  Why not?  We ..read more

      The other day my friend texted me and reminded me that it had been 28 years since we made our voyage from our small little towns in Michigan to Phoenix, Arizona.        Right before I graduated from Beauty school I was actually called by Nicole who was one best nail techs known in Alpena in 1992 asking me when I have to take my exams to be licensed as a cosmetologist.  She explained to me that I worked on one of her clients while she was on vacation and she wanted me to come work in the same shop she worked.  I was so frekin happy!  ..read more

     I watched a series on either Prime, HBO, or Showtime.  It is about a man who worked over 20 years as a Border Patrol Officer when unexpectantly things turned for the worse.  He was trying to help a friend out and he ended up on the other side of the border and in the end he was smuggling drugs into the US so he could get or keep his family out of harms way.  During the series, the man was falling for a beautiful Mexican woman and he states something like "your people are bringing drugs into our country". And she looked at him and says "your country keeps on b ..read more

 The next few years went by pretty fast.  When my Mom left the last time my Grandparents decided to adopt me.  I really remember my Grandpa asked me to sit down at the table because they, being my Grandma and Grandpa, wanted to talk to me about something.  We all sat down at the kitchen table.  Then my Grandpa says with his low voice something like I think it would be best if we adopted you.  Is that something you would like?  I remember the feeling for just a brief second of "why now?" and “hmmmm....do I really want to be adopted?” And then my Grandpa says t ..read more

     When I wrote the last blog, I thought I remembered my last memory before my Mom was on her way to prison.  However, this memory slapped me in the brain when I was driving home from an appointment.      I am not sure if my Mom came back one more time after her stint in rehab or if it was the next year.  I just cannot remember, and I cannot remember which scenarios can exactly put "two-n-two" together.  However, I can remember this particular time that sticks out well, and why I am so protective of my things that I worked hard for and paid for my ..read more

      What happened next?  The day after I noticed her hands shaking in the bathroom?  My Aunt Angie, her husband Tim, and their daughter came over.  I want to say it was late afternoon because it was still daylight outside and at the time of the year the sun would go down pretty early.         My Grandpa had this God-awful looking chair that I think may have been a rocking recliner. The color of the chair was sorta a baby pea puke color with a hint of gold in the stitching of the material. My Grandma put out a nice spread of things to eat ..read more