Mike40's Journal

3/16/09

Tomorrow will mark my one year divorced anniversary. It has been an interesting year. A few downs but mostly ups. As time passes the scars of the divorce seem to fade further away.

My daughters are doing just beautiful. In February they turned 10 and 13. They are both doing pretty good now which is the most important thing to me. They are happy and that makes me happy.  We have been doing a lot of fun things together and this summer we are planning a trip to the Grande Canyon.  Heather placed second in her big gymnastics regional and I'm very proud of her.Both of them made honor roll each period this year and they continue to develope into beautiful young ladies.

I have been dating a woman for several months and she is the first person I've introduced the girls to. They like her. She is a very educated (doctor) sweet beautiful girl and treats me so much nicer than my X ever did. I'm taking it slow and she will be moving shortly but it has been nice to be in a good healthy relationship.  She is 10 years younger than me and has two daughters of her own that are 2 and 4. When we all go out I get lots of comments like "dude, give up, you'll never have a son" and "Keep going, you got to have a boy eventually".  It's pretty funny.  Her mom is such a sweet lady and has welcomed me into their family. Her moms first husband was also a fighter pilot that was lost in Vietnam.  She is moving a few hours away to be closer to where her X lives. That is the best for her daughters and I support that decision. I would do the same.

I've grown a lot over the last year and went from a lost soul trying to find his place to a much more independent person and feel a better sense of direction than I did a year ago.  I'm happy it seems all the time now and I cherish the time I have with my daughters.

I will be retiring from the Navy soon. In April I have my last drill weekend and then the end of April through the first week in May I go to Germany for an exercise. My retirement cerimony will be at the Officers Club in Germany and when I get home my tour of 20 years will be up.  This will allow me to spend more time with my girls and put more focus into my job and home life. I was active for 12 year and in the reserve for 8. I'll miss my buds but know they always there and the friendships will remain.

As I reflect back to my time DS I still believe it was the most important part of keeping my sanity and helping me to heal and get through the divorce. I've met some incredible folks and love you guys. 

I just went and checked on my monkeys who are snuggled in bed and gave them both a kiss on the forehead. My older one slept through it but my little one mumbled out "I love you daddyman".  At the end of the day, that's what everything is about so remember to hug your kids and tell them how much you love them.