Bless This: Family

Needless to say, it's been a little rough lately in the Blessing house.  First it was my sister's wedding.  Yes, it was beautiful and we had a great time...don't get me wrong.  It was a perfect day.  It's just that I was there alone.  No husband, boyfriend or date.  Everyone had someone.  I was alone. Then it was Olivia's birthday.  No husband or father there to help me celebrate her special day.  I just went to work and came home after dinner.  It should have been a fun day for her. Then it was/would have been my 3 year wedding anniversary.  That was a hard day.  I have now had more wedding anniversaries without him than I did with him.  Also that day, I was told I was needed to go back and do external recruiting.  As you know for the past 6 months, I've been doing all Internal Talent Management and loving it.  And yes, this was told to me on my wedding anniversary. That day got harder for me.  I didn't have Patrick to go home to and have him comfort

Saturday we celebrated Olivia's first birthday.  I also celebrated that I made it through the year.  It has not been easy, but we did it. We had 65 people at the party.  25 of them kids 14 and under.  Yes, it was a mad house. Yes, I loved every minute of it.  It was a lot to get ready for that many people.  Mom made sloppy joes. I made the famous meatballs-225 to be exact.  All were eaten...Quickly.  We had salads, snacks and everything.  Mom and I made the cake and cupcakes.  Well, mostly Martha Stewart, I mean mom did.  We had games for the kids and alcohol for the parents.  Olivia did a great job all night.  While opening presents, she patiently sat there on my lap and watched.  Then it was cake time.  She wasn't sure right away...I helped her dig in.  Then she loved it.  Red velvet cake and purple frosting.  Just for daddy.  After cake, she was swept right into the tub.  Then she got to play with all of her toys.  She had so much fun.  The rest of the weekend was a blast.