In 2010, I was 42. I worked for Schneider and delivered auto parts. I was home every night and wrote books. I had a 17 yr old senior, a 14 year old freshman, a 12 year old 6th grader and a 9 year old 3rd grader. I had been married 20 years.
2009 had been my best sales year ever, with Glad Hands selling brilliantly. I had gone to GRL in New Orleans and had a splendidly miserable time. It would have been fun without the GI distress to the point of internal bleeding.
Everything has changed.
I'm 52, and in much poorer health.
I was fired from Schneider in 2012 and worked for RGIS for a year and a half. Then I got on with ActionLink in 2014 and build displays for 2 1/2 years. In 2016, I trained to drive school buses and began that job in 2017.
All my publishers went out of business. My own small press failed. I'm still writing but much less.
My kids all graduated from High School. Victoria had a full ride to University of Memphis and dropped out her first semester. Chris couldn't get any help, despite holding the record for the highest number of AP classes passed at West Memphis. The government shutdown cut off his chances of financial aid as well. He went into the army. Jon failed out of ASU and Mid South Community college. Olivia is holding down straight Bs at MidSouth.
Victoria and Olivia are both getting married this year. Chris is talking about it. Chris made me a grandma in November of 2019.
Mudd left teaching in 2013 and went to to truck driving. He rolled the rig and broke his back. He went back to teaching and has been in Brinkley since the 2014 school year.
We started the decade with a Ford Focus and a Toyota Prius. In 2010, Victoria wrecked the Focus. I got a PT Cruiser. I traded the PT Cruiser for a Dodge Nitro in 2016. The Prius gave up the ghost in 2018, after 300.000 miles. We have a gray Ford Focus again.
On a personal front, I started identifying as trans, although genderqueer. I can't make the full change at this time. I do drag as Dean O'Bedlam to get my masc time in.
I had all my teeth out in 2015 and got dentures. My health improved a lot. Mudd and Gabriel got their teeth out last summer. They're doing better too.
In 2017, the Morrigan kicked me in the head and announced I was hers, regardless of my Greek patrons. We've been working together for a while now.
Mom died in 2014.
A good friend was murdered in 2015.
I lost more friends to cancer and suicide over the course of the years, some closer and some less.
My girlfriend's father died in December of 2019.
I had a bad year that lasted about 4 years, from the firing in Oct 12, to Darren's death in 15. Money was horrible as I tried to run a 4000/mo household on $400.
It hasn't all been woe. There have been many good books, good movies, good times with friends and family. I got married by accident in 2015, giving me two husbands. I have grandkids.
