Welcome to Beyond the Chaos

Living life beyond the chaos

Sometimes life takes us to beautiful destinations, but sometimes it takes us to a dark place. It's like riding a roller coaster with sharp curves, steep hills, and scary tunnels. We experience emotions that aren't even named. Sometimes, we need to just take a step back and take a breath. Go to a place where nothing exists but yourself. It's a private place where stress doesn't exist, love doesn't exist, sadness doesn't exist; in fact, no emotions exist. It's a deep, private, amazingly quiet place where we can take a breath and clear our minds. I call this place: Beyond the Chaos.

"No emotions, you say." No emotions exist in this place. It's the place we go where only we exist. Where we don't have to think about anything. There are no people, no children, no phones... nothing but ourselves and the things that bring us peace. I've found my place beyond the chaos. As I muddle through this new blog of mine, I will give you a glimpse of what beyond the chaos looks like for me. It's my private place, and I will be letting you in. I will also take you on the roller coaster ride called life. I will take you into parts of my life that lead me to my private place. The ups and downs I've experienced, the dark places I've been to, and the happy moments. But first, let me introduce myself.

a moment beyond the chaos

I have many titles, and each one has brought me to where I exist now. There are titles I hold that I'm not ready to share. There are titles I'm very proud of, and titles not so much.

I am the daughter of Bill and Margaret, the granddaughter of Margaret, the widow of James, the foster mother of Nathan, and the mother of twins. I am an Air Force brat born in Stuttgart, West Germany. I was raised in a small blue-collar town in Illinois where my Hungarian great-grandparents immigrated when the refineries were built in the early 1900s. I am divorced, single, and widowed. I hold a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in leadership and development. For the last 29 years, I have worked for the federal government.

Each step in my journey has taught me, drained me, and energized me. I hope that you too will find something in my story that you relate to and find amusing, sad, or educational. Something that will help you realize that you too can go beyond the chaos.

So, this is the first blog I've written. I take that back. I did try to start one many years ago, but I couldn't find my niche. I now have a better understanding of life and how it works. I come to you with many experiences that the average human has not even experienced. I will talk about what it is like to hold these titles, what I have learned from them, and how I have survived them. You will see that I am not a victim and not a survivor but a warrior! I haven't won every battle, but I have gotten through everything I've faced.

I hope my words have sparked your interest, and you'll return next Sunday as I delve further into this journey. I appreciate you, and remember to be kinder and better than you were yesterday.