It was just over a year ago when i opted to take a position with Flying J as a Restaurant Manager that brought me to Rawlins, Wyoming. I was seeing someone who lived in the area and it was going well through that point. Hey why not see where it took me, right?

At first, I loved my job. I was highly devoted and spent way too many hours working. I had a stretch at one point where I worked something like 24 days straight without a day off. Couldn’t ask for more from a salaried manager, eh? While I worked so much, I lost out on a great deal too. It was difficult trying to maintain my relationship with Jaden and the relationship that I was in suffered too. He was positive that I was cheating on him or something. Seems pretty impossible to me when I spent so much time at work, but hey, that’s just me, ya know, superwoman.

Things between Nate and I took a sharp turn for the worst that December. We were in a crunch at work and what time we did see one another, we would fight like crazy. I was in desperate need of time by myself and took one of my days off and headed out of town just to get a much needed break for myself and also got all that I needed to make goodie bags for my staff at work. I spent the remainder of the day working on fudge, carameled apples, cookies and the like.

Nate was highly jealous that I had taken a trip out of town without him and didn’t understand my desperate need for me time to try to clear my head. He was also angry that I was putting time and effort into the goodie bags for my staff instead of doing something for him. Seems if I had any time at all at the end of the day, I had best be doing something for him, rather than taking time to do anything else. So he went drinking that night with his brother.

He showed up after the bars closed and was three sheets to the wind. He walked in and slammed the door in a desire to cause a stir. I asked him not to do that as Jaden was sleeping so he opened the door again and slammed it again. An arguement started that ended with him going to jail for assault and battery. It was at that point that I was hell bent and determined to move on with my life by any means possible.

I left Rawlins and went ome to the comforts of the ranch in Evanston. I started working in that store January 3, 2006. What a quick trip that was! I, again, was working my tail end off and seemed to be getting no-where fast in my job. I was frustrated with the long hours and the late nights and the lack of time I was able to spend with my son. Life settled down to an extent and we spent more time together before long, however difficult it was.

At the end of February, my grandfather died. He was the last huge connection with my mom that I had. I was fortunate to spend so much time with him in the short time I had been home. I loved seeing him and even if it was just for 10 minutes, he loved being able to spend time with me too. He was positive that everyone in the family had forgotten him until the day I showed up to see him after moving there. It was my daily ritual to pop in before work just to say hi.

After he died, I really wanted to get out of Evanston again, so I opted to transfer back to Rawlins. I couldn’t have been more disappointed in my job! We had undergone district change and had a new district manager that was beyond a self-serving, pigheaded ass. Each manager was assigned a task to complete – easy enough, right? Wrong! We were each asked to commit fraud and I refused. I decided that I would take the opportunity to leave the company and did.

I spent a week totally off work and enjoyed the company of my son during the anniversary of Reiley’s death. I needed the change of pace and welcomed the mini-vacation. I got back into the job hunt and found a job as a bar tender at a local bar. I figured it would be a good stepping stone with fast cash until I found the typical Monday-Friday job that would give me nights at home.

All was going well until my boss through a fit that pissed me off so I left and went to work at another bar in town. It was at the Peppermill that I first met Rob. We didn’t talk a great deal, but he was in there often, I knew of him and was a bit interested in him. I got a phone call from Mike asking me to come back to work for him and I tossed over the idea. I missed the money that I made there and wanted it back, so the decision was pretty easy.

It was a bit difficult at first with the different staff there. Before long the crew had changed and life was going great. I was working the shifts I wanted, making the money I needed and having fun all over again while at work.

In my personal life, I had started dating someone that seemed okay to start. After a while, I discovered a huge lie that he had told me which left me frustrated and confused. I struggled with that on top of dealing with the issues of my brother that were left from childhood. I finally agreed to talk to the investigating officer of the ARMY about the abuse that I suffered and through that process, displaced many emotions I felt towards my brother on the guy I was seeing and inevitably, the relationship ended, which was a blessing in disguise.

There was one night that Rob had come into Mike’s when I was working with a friend of his, Troy. Troy brought a few moments of laughter to us both as he was coming on hard and strong with the ladies having a night out. Rob sat at the bar and we chatted about that and our lives for the duration of the night. By shift end, he had asked me for a pen and paper to give me his number and invited me out for breakfast after I was off work. I accepted the invitation and dined in the company of he and Troy.

Troy left and asked if I would give Rob a ride home. No problem. And that’s when life twisted…..

I dropped him off at home and went home myself. I crawled into bed and crashed hard. A few nights later, we spent some time together and continued to do so occasionally. The relationship between us grew. I started meeting his friends, his family and he became a big part of my life. I let him meet my son and with a twist of fate, conversation between us changed into something much more serious….

The day before we were scheduled to go to the Evanescence concert in Denver, I had suspected I might be pregnant. We had that conversation which blew him away when I was already blown away. The next morning, I had the pregnancy confirmed and the entire drive to Denver was filled with talk of family life, and what we each expected out of the future. What a change from no strings to one hell of a committment.

After the concert, Rob said that he felt we were headed in the direction of marriage and I agreed. But I was adimant about not getting married just because we were pregnant. He accepted that and conversation continued.

We stopped in Cheyenne the next day to have dinner with his family and for me to meet his mom. All went well and we dropped the bomb that we were expecting. The family actually seemed pretty excited. Good thing.

By week end, I was having some spotting. I ended up in the emergency room twice on a Friday night and was definitely having a miscarriage. It was hard for us both and still affects us, but one thing is for sure, we wouldn’t have had the conversations we did without that factor being part of our lives. Rob stressed to me that his plans for the future weren’t changing because we weren’t pregnant any longer.

So we’ve made it official and are getting married May 12, 2007. I couldn’t be happier with the man I am choosing to spend the rest of my life with. He’s very kind hearted and has the qualities I’ve looked for. He’s amazing with Jaden and I love him with all of my heart.

So there it is – a year with so many changes and directions to go. I wouldn’t have thought in a million years that I would be where I am right now. I’m thrilled at the future to be held and beyond excited to commit myself to this awesome individual with whom I will be sharing more than just a last name – I’ll be sharing my life.

Mysti