I didn't start this today as a New Year's Resolution. I actually signed up for this site 7 or 8 months ago. But I learned in 2019, I give too much of myself away and don't give enough to myself and my family. So really 2020 will be about defining who I am. Here's the simple answer:
-Mom to Harrison (10..in 30 days), Julian (8), Maxwell (four legged Dachshund), and Stella (four legged Rat Terrier). Yes all four are Beatle references.
-Wife to Nathan. He is my rock. Every depth of our vows have been tested and he always defies the expectations and is amazing but certainly not perfect. No one is. We were married on 07/07/07. We intend on having 7 weddings. So far, we've had 3. Our hashtag is #AlwaysMy7.
-Daughter to two incredible individuals who show me everyday what it takes to push through anything, be successful, be kind, be strong. My mother is a recovering from Bi-Polar Disorder. My father is currently battling stage 4 Brain Cancer.
-Sister to 1 younger sister. I'm incredibly protective of her and have supported her throughout her entire life. We have little in common, but she's everything to me.
-Friend to many. I have 4 in particular that I couldn't have gotten to this point in my life without. And I consider myself damn lucky to have those 4 ladies in my life. The most unique thing I think about them is that none are connected to another.
-Professional Human Resources Director. Fell into this profession by chance, never looked back. I've worked primarily in hospitality.
-#1 Kansas City Beatles Fan. I won't claim the world...yet. Born and raised a Beatle Fan thanks to my dad. My dining room is decorated floor to ceiling (literally) in Beatle Memorabilia. See my gallery for the Annual Mattson Beatle Christmas Cards.
-BlockHead. I've been a New Kids on the Block fan since I was 8. My best friend and I have been to at least 7 concerts together and have hung out with Jordan Knight, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood. We frequently refer to them as our friends.
-I'm mostly Episcopalian but have referred to myself as from the Church of Abbey. I sing in my choir and one of my biggest blessings in life has been traveling to Europe with my choir.
-I'm mostly liberal. I respect you if you are mostly conservative. And that's really where the conversation should end. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is one side posting or arguing something against the other side. Find me one person who believed one way and then after reading a post or having an argument, quickly converted to the other side.
-My favorite restaurant is Wahlburgers with a guilty pleasure of Taco Bell. My favorite color is green. My spirit animal is the bear. I love sports, especially my hometown Chiefs, Royals and Sporting KC. I'm Alumni of Purdue and just a fan of Nebraska. I love to read and do crafts. I've never found someone further along in Candy Crush than me.
-13 years ago was The Big TOE (Turn Of Events). It changed my course of life to almost everything. It's defined my health for the past 13 years and every day of every year I work to move on from it. Some days I move 77 steps backwards and have to start over. The whole thing stems from being struck by a car as a pedestrian...while inside a Walgreens. I had complications that almost killed me and since then, I've always felt like a part of me did die.
Those are all surface things. Things anyone could learn with a little digging. I can see that I'm strong with what I've been through. But feeling it is a different perspective. I want to be better, do better, live better. I want to care less about what others think of me and less about how others do less for me than I do for them. The bullet point that stands out the most to me in the attached photo is 'I'm responsible for my own happiness." And so here's to 2020, new decade, I can't believe I'm entering the 4th one I've been alive for. Here's to a better me, healthier and stronger. This blog is for me. Because I love to put thoughts to paper, regardless if anyone else reads it. So that's step one, the first thing I'm doing for myself. Writing.
Cheers.
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