Meet Your Host: Eileen
Learn a little more about me. In some ways my story is pretty common - some good, some not so good. In other ways a little less common - widowed at 25 and 36.
But through it all I’m learning to embrace every minute and turn it into good.
What a cute kid!
That's me somewhere around 1984. Born in Forth Worth, Texas, I was 4, and being properly groomed to be a proud Texan. Life was great. I knew I was loved. I had a mom who ran the daycare I went to so I got to hang out with her anytime I wanted. My dad was funny, loved animals, and made a great Santa Claus at the daycare - which I proudly announced to all the other kids at age 3. My big brother hung the moon , rescued me from crickets, and returned the favor of my Santa announcement right after my 5th birthday. My sister... well. We're sisters. But sometimes she was still fun.
I thought my life was pretty ordinary. We weren't rich, but I never went to bed hungry. I always had clothes on my back. And I had a roof over my head every night. I never knew a day when I felt unsafe. I never knew a day I felt unimportant or pushed aside. As an adult, I know that's a pretty extraordinary life.
Growing up had its bumps but nothing proved unmanageable. I finished high school on time, in the top 10% of my class. I enjoyed learning, was a band geek, enjoyed Friday Night Lights, and had the freedom to take some classes just for fun. I applied to colleges I wanted to attend without a worry I wouldn't be accepted.
Fast Forward: May, 2001
On May 26, 2001 I married the love of my life (isn't that what every 21 year old says?)
Steven Alfred Arnold II was 3 years older than me and 16 inches taller. He loved sports, video games, trivia, monopoly, reading, and snoopy. I was 18 when he proposed. When I told my mom her response was "finish college." Um, yes ma'am. But I haven't even started yet.
We made our home in South Euclid, Ohio. We got a cat, Max. I finished college 2.5 years after we married. We were young and figuring out life...
yes, feeding yourself is necessary daily
yes, paying the bills matters; on time is even better
employers expect you to show up every day, on time, and work the whole day
and marriage means forgiveness - a LOT of forgiveness
Suddenly, Life Got Real
On March 1, 2005, my 27 year old husband died - VERY unexpectedly. A pulmonary embolism took him from awake, alert and standing up to dead on the floor in a moment. He was in ICU at the time (that's a story for another day) so medical care was immediate, but not enough.
He was gone.
And at 25, I was a widow. Our marriage lasted 3 years, 9 months, and 3 days.
That’s where my story starts.
A story of Loss and Love,
Despair and Joy.
Starting Over,
Figuring it Out,
Or So I Thought.
Starting Over Again,
Finding Myself.
And beginning to hear the music playing again.