What 2008 brought...

Ok, this might be a bit emotional for me...so it might not make sense to all, but just some things I need to get out. What 2008 brought to our family:

Jan: *Our daughter we'll never know on earth, Marissa, would have been 3 years old.
*We opened a restaurant/motel with high hopes, tho in our hearts we knew it never
stood a chance. We were well aware that Alex's dad wouldn't do what he said he
would. Nevertheless, we rolled up our sleeves and went to work.

Feb: *Alex and I spent our 2nd anniversary at home because his dad didn't deem us
worthy of a salary to run one of his businesses. In the mean time, his other boys
who "work" for him our living in $250,000-$500,000 homes purchased by him
for them.
*We experience the first of MANY damaging floods/ice storms to our home and the
restaurant.
*We have our son evaluated by a speech therapist, who tells us he's over a year
behind developmentally.

Mar: *I make the first of a few mistakes and hire Juanita.

Apr: *The pediatrician notices a small white birth mark on our son, and tells us we need
to have him seen by a neurologist. We scoff at this, but follow thru w/ the referral.

May: *Ah, my 31st birthday. It's celebrated by my father-in-law coming to the restaurant
to tell me what a major fuck-up (sorry) I am. He has the nerve to throw Adam's
name at me and I lose it. That crazy low-life turns him in for his wrong-doings and
it's ME that's a problem?! Ha!
*My sweet boy turns 2 years old :)

June: *My mom has to be admitted into the VA hospital because she's got internal bleeding
they can't find. I have to stay in a hotel in Augusta to be near her.
*My sister-in-law dies of leukemia. She leaves behind 3 children under age 13. This
affects me deeply, tho I hardly knew her.
*While in Augusta I experience one of the most horrifying experiences of my life. I
receive a call from my brother's partner that brother has attempted suicide. He
is in the ER. It takes me several calls to find him, at which point I'm in hysterics
because I think he's dead. I'm sure of it. That's why they won't tell me where he
is. He wasn't dead, tho. While laying in his bathtub, full of his own blood flowing
steadily from his wrists, he decides he DOESN'T want to die. He calls 911 and is
saved. He spends the next 6 weeks in and out of rehab. I can't describe the
feelings from nearly losing him...

July: *I want to go to see my brother, but can't. Our busy season is about to start (or so
we were told).
*The busy season came and went, and we were still broke. People liked us, loved
our food/atmosphere...little did we know, the recession was about to strike.

Aug: *We take Brandon to Bangor for the first EKG, which is abnormal. I hold him for
what seems like forever and cry.
*Kaitlynne turns 11 :)
*The twins turn 1 :)
*My father-in-law has all but bailed on the restaurant.

Sep: *We take Brandon for genetic bloodwork, which is also abnormal. We are told he
has a chromosomal abnormality of his number 5 chromosome. We are still waiting
to see a geneticist to have this explained to us.

Oct: *My father-in-law drops his spies off for a week at the hotel/restaurant. They
immediate latch on to the weakest link, Juanita. She thinks she can get ahead, so
she tells them lie upon lie about us, including that I NEVER worked! I was putting
in 60+ hours a week, and had the payroll to prove it-but he didn't care...she was
his new drinking buddy. Low-lifes of a feather...
*Brandon goes for a 48-hour EKG and an MRI. THANK THE GOOD LORD his MRI
comes back clear! However, the EKG does not. He is having seizures, and is put
on medication. The cause is unclear, we're still following up on it.
*We make the decision to leave the hotel/restaurant. His father had bailed, it
couldn't support itself, and he's made a mockery of my husband and I in the little
town we had to live in.

Nov: *We move to Missouri. His dad has promised to help us, but it's been like pulling
teeth. He blames ME for the entire economic recession! I didn't know I had such
power. Our credit cards are nearly maxed for having to live on them for the last
year because he refused to pay us our salaries...

Dec: *Hard time finding work...not what we had thought it would be.
*Christmas is bleak, financially, but my kids still make me smile.
*I find myself falling into a deep depression...still working on that one, too.
*We get to see my brother-in-law and sister-in-law after over a year. The few,
perhaps the only, in-laws I like.
*We find out that that Alex's uncle (a dear man) has terminal cancer.


I know, this is a bleak post. It's been a hard year. However, we are all here. Healthy, and most of us happy. I praying the New Year brings stability so that we can cut the ties for good. My father-in-law has beat me down emotionally. Something I swore I'd never let ANY man (or woman) do to me again after my ex-husband. I suppose he feels good about himself, even tho I KNOW he knows I busted my ASS for him. Karma. It's a bitch, so I hear...