I'm a writer and homemaker. We've homeschooled my daughter, Katie, for many years, but she's entering college now, leaving me at loose ends. I've been a custodial and non-custodial mother and stepmother, and even a step-grandmother at one time, and those varied experiences have given me a an interesting perspective on many parenting and custody issues.
Why so many different roles? Well, it took me a few tries to get the relationship thing right. I got married at 18 to my high school sweetheart, and we were divorced before I was 21. I was married and divorced two more times before encountering the love of my life, my life partner, Sam. I can at least say that we made different mistakes each time. I try to pass on what I've learned in hopes that others might benefit from those "learning experiences."
My pre-disability professional background includes technical writing, software QA, network administration, health insurance administration, and medical transcription, among many other things. I started working outside the home when I was 12 (and no, I don't mean babysitting), so I had many years to build up work experience.
I've been an internet safety activist since a nutjob targeted me and my daughter online (and off) back in 1996. I'm an avid reader and roleplayer (diceless RPGs, story games, etc.) and love music, especially singing. I'm an avid cross-stitcher and design my own patterns.
I haven't been able to work since 2000 due to a bunch of different annoying health problems that combine to put me in constant pain. The pain leads to poor sleep, and the combination of fatigue and pain cause cognitive deficits like trouble finding the right word sometimes, occasional memory lapses, and confusion. Since I prefer not to post when I'm "foggy," my participation here can be spotty.
We have one cat, Kyoshi, who deigns to share space with us. We're still mourning the loss of our 18-year-old queen, Shelley. We also had a Great Pyrenees cross who was part of the family, until she was stolen by a former housemate. Some day we'll have another dog and more cats again, but the timing isn't right at the moment
My partner, Sam, and I, are looking at other states and planning to move somewhere that isn't as hot and humid, possibly the Pacific NW or New England. He was born in Georgia and has lived here most of his life, with a short stay in New York/New Jersey. I was born in Alabama, but again, have been in Georgia most of my life.
