Hello Folks!

I'm new to the site. Definitely not new to this different life. Following everyone else's lead, I'll begin with how I came to be in this elite group.

On Mother's Day of 82' my family and then boyfriend gathered at the Spillway that leads to Lake Pontchatrain for a barbecue, boating, and lots of sunshine. At the end of the day my brother was about to load his bass boat up, when guess who ran across the field to plead for "one more ride". Yep...and little sisters are hard to say no to aren't they? (I was 20) Well, I got my ride. We hit a submerged cypress tree stump that stopped the boat instantly but my brother, boyfriend, and I kept going. I seemed to have landed closest to the propeller as the boat spun on that tree stump. Fast forward: I had my first helicopter ride. FF: Too much was gone to save it. I had the final say in it. (At least they let me think I did.) Went home after a month. Did whatever I wanted to. Boyfriend and I married two years later. Six years later we had a son. Three years later we had our daughter. We renovated two houses in that time. Super large group of close friends. Hubby had a couple of heart attacks. Pride rocked the boat in this case and we divorced in 2003. I remarried in 2005. First hubby passed away a week later. Two months later Katrina hit and second hubby had a heart attack the day after. He lost his job and we moved to Florida to put my kids in a less chaotic environment. **coughhh!** Sorry...at the risk of sounding like Dorothy, there's no place like home. Seven months later new hubby diagnosed with cancer. Moved back to New Orleans and he died in July 06'. Both husbands within a year of each other almost to the day. The accident was a piece of cake. This was pushing my limits. FF: January 07'. You all know what I'm talking about here; the decision was made to climb out of the pits and do something about it. I still had two kids that depended on me. The fog began to lift as I renovated and my house had people traffic in it again. In February I joined a dating site. Talk about hits! Until they read the whole profile. One guy I met at a restaurant walked in and said, "Oh! I thought you were kidding!" I told him he was in for an interesting evening then. (Shoulda ordered the most expensive thi...ok, not really) I've lived a life of not thinking I was different from anyone else...sheltered? Maybe in a way. How do we get the rest of the world to realize these bodies are only temporary? Everyone has some hurdle to conquer. We just don't always "see" them until we get to know the person. From short fuses, to chronic back pain and from bad knees to liars. Are they more acceptable because they don't stand out in a crowd? So, after 25 years, I'm just now going through the OMG! I'm so different!-stage. And lo-and-behold, this site is announced on TV a couple of nights ago. As I peek in on yall's profiles, hear the stories, see the faces...I'd say I was in good company.