Simply…Marta

I have seen this post all over blogs the last few days so I decided it was time to do mine.  I got the idea from one of the blogs I follow daily and thought it would be a great idea to make my own list. The premise behind it is to talk about 10 days in my life that had an effect on my life(whether good or bad) and what I learned that day. 

It was hard to pick “just” 10 days but these are all significant events in my life, in no particular order.

1. The day I moved to Orlando, in 1996. I had been moving around for many years and when I got here I knew that it would be home for a long time. 12 years later I am still here and loving it as much as I did when I got here.
2. The day my biological mother dropped me off at the airport in Puerto Rico to send me off to live with my dad. Even at the age of 8 I knew that there was a chance I may not see her for a long time, possibly not ever again, and I was ok with that.
3. The day I got the news that my high school sweetheart had been killed in a car accident. We had spoken a few weeks before the accident and gotten into an argument and that was the last memory I had of him. I later found out that he had told my best friend at the time the day before his accident that he wanted to speak to me and gave her his number so I could call. Because she was upset with me at the time she never told me, and him and I never spoke. I didn’t find out that he had passed away until weeks after it happened. 7 years later I still wonder why no one told me when it happened and didn’t give me the chance to go to his funeral and mourn just like everyone else did.
4. September 10, 2003…the day that I had my gastric bypass/weight loss surgery. I knew that I was taking a HUGE step towards a better and healthier life. I lost 140 pounds within the next 18 months and even though I have gained back just a little bit of that weight it was one of the most important decisions of my life. Life has been full of ups and downs since then but I have no regrets.
5. May 13, 2001 (Mother’s Day)…the day I lost my grandmother. She was more like a mother to me the first few years of my life when my own biological mother wasn’t truly there for me. She taught me so many things that I will always carry with me, like my passion for cooking which I learned from her. I had never lost anyone close to me until that day and her funeral was one of the hardest days in my life.
6. January 11, 2007…the day my son was born and I became a single mother. As you can tell by my last post as to how I became a single mom, I suffered a lot in the 9 months leading up to this day but it was truly the day that completely changed my life and I am thankful every single day to have such an amazing gift and blessing.
7. The day I got accepted into culinary school…I felt like for the first time in a LONG time I was doing something for myself. And more importantly I am doing something to better my future and my son’s future. I know that the day I graduate will be another amazing day.
8. The day I found out I was pregnant. The instant that I saw the positive test I knew that good or bad, my life would be changing forever. And the realization that I was assisting God in the miracle of life was and still is an overwhelming thing.
9. My son’s first birthday (party)…it was the first time in a long time that all of my friends and family members had been gathered in one place. I spent a lot of time that day just looking around and thanking God for all of the wonderful people he has put in my life. Without them I truly do not know where I would be, and it was an amazing feeling to have everyone around me. It was that day that I realized that doing this parenting thing “alone” was not impossible, and I truly saw the love and support that Alex and I have surrounding us on a dialy basis.
10. And finally…Today. Because not everyone was fortunate enough to wake up to see another day, so I try to live each day happy and thankful. Because I am blessed, and because I know that I am here for a reason.

Please feel free to comment or to add your own meaningful days!