A Little Back Story

I am a writer, poet, and single mother of three. I am a high school English teacher; hence, I don’t blog as much as I used to and desperately want to. I was a Girl Scout for 8 years, a Girl Scout leader for 2, and now a Cub Scout leader for 9. I have taught every age group from 4 to freshman in college.

I am a feminist, an environmentalist, a liberal, and a liberal Catholic.  I grew up in a dual-religious, dual senses-of-humor, and  dual-political household, which gave me a healthy open-mind.  While I inherited my father’s sense of humor, I inherited my mother’s lack of tact.  I am an avid reader and talker, so I don’t plan on running out of things to say.  And I do contradict myself at times.  I am also one of the world’s worst spellers, so please have mercy if I forget to spell check.

I was born and raised in Arizona.  So, yes, I do know how to ride a horse and shoot a gun.  No, we didn’t own a horse, and my father was a cop, not a hunter.   I have a strong dislike for snakes, spiders, scorpions, and cactus.  I hate cactus so much.  I moved to Southern California for college and met my ex before I could escape.  The weather’s nice, and they have Disneyland, but the culture was slowly killing me.  After a whirlwind of discussing, planning, packing, we moved to Arizona, where we are close to the most favorite people in my boys ‘ world, their beloved Papi, Grandma, and Uncles.  I’ve been separated since November 2010 and officially divorced since June 2014. I’m having a real hard time inserting a joke here. I’m a high school English teacher, and I love my job but would love to work for more than pennies. Due to the last two facts, joke aside, I live with parents with shared custody of my boys.

Important Facts: I have seen every Simpsons’ episode.  I have my degree in Creative Writing (which may explain why I didn’t have a bustling career before I became a stay at home mom).  I have too many favorite books to count.  I can read palms.  I’m completely curious about everything.  I enjoy creating whether it’s a craft or a new dish.  I have met only a few desserts I didn’t like.  I am a night person forced to be a morning person.

The other characters:

Tornado E: He’s 14 now. He loves video games and drawing. He plays the drums.  Not quite the daredevil he used to be, he insists on doing everything right the first time and never asking questions or help.  He’s too smart for his own good, has a natural sense of comedic timing, and loves to read and create.  His head is filled with stories and plans.  He’s a numbers guy and loves science.  He’s a talker like his Mommy and has the energy to fuel a small city.

Tornado S:  He’s 12.  He loves Star Wars, Sith Lords, villains, pirates, and dragons.   While he might like villains, he has a gentle heart and never stops smiling.  He loves to do slap-stick comedy and is currently working on his sarcasm. Like his older brother, he tends to know way too much.  He’s lovably odd, doing things that of-course-he-did-that-because-he’s-Tornado-S. He’s great at math and loves science.  He too is a talker like his Mommy.

Tornado A:  He’s 9 going on 16.  He truly believes he can do everything his brothers can do.  He loves Star Wars, swords, Legos, video games, proving his brothers wrong.  He has a collection of babies (small stuffed animals) and a big huge teddy bear named Bobby. He loves them all as a dad. He likes math and science. Spelling and reading come easy to him.  He’s frighteningly smart, like way-way too smart, like I-want-to-cry too smart.  This one might have me undone. Like his brothers, he’s a talker too.

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