Happy New Year to You and Yours

 

Happy 2025 to you, one and all. I hope this year brings you all happiness and prosperity in whatever it is you do. I'll be honest. I'm so glad 2024 is over. It wasn't a horrible year, but I did get to a point where I felt like "Oh, this is what we're doing now? Okay." 

I have a lot of ideas for 2025. I've spent most of my Christmas vacation working on making some stuff to put in my online shop. I've been making handmade gift tags and greeting cards. I also make a lot of embellishments for people who make junk journals. I'm hoping to get that up off the ground and bring in a little extra money.

2024 was a trying year for me. I got divorced from my husband of 10 years (hubby #2). We're still friends, we just suck at being married. I was in a minor accident and had no choice but to get a new car. I needed it, don't get me wrong. My previous vehicle was on its last leg anyway. I just wasn't ready to put myself into that much debt.

I did have some high moments as well. I was celebrated by the company I work for as I hit the "10-year employee" milestone. Might not sound like much, but it was a major pat on the back for me. I got to rekindle a relationship with my youngest granddaughter. She's been through a lot in her short 9 years of life. Please keep her in your prayers. And I got to meet my online bestie, face to face. She's even more amazing than I ever dreamed.

Throughout the entire year, I've learned a lot about myself. I'm 56. I didn't think there was any more I could learn about myself. Turns out I'm a lot stronger than I gave myself credit for being. Last New Year's, I was figuring out how to support myself and a granddaughter (my oldest granddaughter lives with me). I was dealing with a failed marriage, juggling my finances, and a lot of low self-esteem issues. Here it is a year later and I've learned that I can do this on my own, I just need to remember who I am.

I'm not making any New Year's resolutions. The last time I made a resolution, it was that I'd never make another New Year's resolution, and to date, it's the only one I've ever succeeded at. I won't say "I'm going to do this", but will wait a bit so I can say, "I did that". I have a plan, I just have to make sure I've got the gumption. (Yes, I still use words like that, I'm old).

I pray you all find love and prosperity in the coming year. Thank you to those who have stopped by and read any of my posts. You make me smile. I hope I'm doing the same for you. One of the things I'm hoping to do is get my newsletter up and running again so you can be notified of new posts. Wish me luck. For some reason, I really suck at newsletters. LOL

So, if you've read this far, Happy New Year. Just knowing you were here means my year is already a success. 

Blessings to you and yours,
Miss Chris

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Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs two blogs, Graves Publications and Collected Keepsakes, and currently writes for a platform called Medium.com  where she runs several publications. 

Christine is an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures and another that showcases her AI artwork called Pathways through the Past. 

Be sure to sign up for the Graves Publications newsletter to stay up with all the latest news. 

A True Reason to be Thankful This Year

 

We're still a few days away from Thanksgiving and I'm over here thinking about the things I should be thankful for this year. It's been a hell of a ride and I really do have a lot to be grateful for. 

Okay, let me give you some perspective. In January, I will have been separated from husband #2 for two years. He left me. I was mortified. It took me a good six months just to be able to not burst out into tears around other people. I lived in the house we had shared...for a time. It was an inheritance from his mother, so I had no choice but to move. Another hard slap to the face. 

He'd left me with most of the bills and half of the money. I had to get help from various sources (I was also raising a grandchild), but I managed to find a place for the grandbaby and myself just before Thanksgiving. It was hard for me to get into the holiday mood. I was starting to get past the initial trauma, but it still hurt.

Just about a year ago, I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner in my little apartment. Just me, the grandbaby, her mom, and her step-dad. It was an amazing dinner and we all had a wonderful time. It was the first time since my husband had left me that I actually felt thankful for anything. I still had the grandbaby. I still had my daughter and she had given me an amazing son-in-law. 

For the past year, I've worked my ass off trying to keep my head above water. My husband had taken the new car we'd just purchased together and left me with his piece-of-shit pickup. What's worse? He never made a payment on the car and I either had to make the payments or let it get repossessed and have that on my record as well as his. I paid that car off, even though I wasn't driving it, and added a few good marks to my credit report.

I finally saved up enough money to file for divorce. I didn't get an attorney, I just filed all the papers myself and even made sure he knew what I was doing. I'm not sure if he'd realized what he had done, or if he thought I was bluffing, but we were getting along pretty well. So, after I'd filed, I had him come over for dinner. I served him spaghetti for supper and divorce papers for dessert. Mmmm, yummy.

He signed the papers, then signed the title for the pickup and handed it over to me. It was still a piece of shit, but I had a clear title so I could sell it if I had to. I wanted a new car, but I didn't think I could do it on my own. Between trying to pay rent, pay the bills, and still put food on the table, I was barely getting by. Fast forward two months to the day we went to court for the divorce. 

I stopped at the bank on my way to the courthouse. I wanted to make sure I had enough cash on me to pay whatever was left on the divorce. However, the Universe had other ideas for me. Someone came out of the bank, obviously pissed off, and slammed into my driver's side door. The door wouldn't open and the window was shattered, and I was supposed to be in court in less than 15 minutes. 

I called my (now) ex and told him what happened. He got to the bank before the police did. He was pulling chunks of glass out of my door panel when the police finally arrived. I explained the situation as he took my information. Then, he sent us off to the courthouse, which was (thankfully) just across the street. 

We made it just in time and the judge signed off on our divorce. Still, I was now driving a piece of shit pickup with a door that didn't open and no window...and it was October. Brrrr. I spent a week driving that damn thing before I decided it was time to get a new car. 

A friend had me call her guy. She knew a guy who worked at a local dealership. And not one of those places with the cardboard signs written in black marker. Like, a real dealership with cars inside the showroom and the whole thing. I called him around 10am on a Friday morning and by the time I got off work that afternoon, I was on my way to sign for my new car. I was so proud of myself and so freaked out over what I had just done. I pulled up my big girl panties and did a thing. WTF???

So, here it is, a full year later. I'm still struggling, but I'm still here. I have a new car that I feel safe driving and don't worry about putting my grandchild in. We're warm, we're safe, and we're fed. And that right there is a lot. 

I'm thankful for the people I have around me, however many or few there may be. I'm thankful for the chance to be the person that I've become. And I'm thankful that I've been given another chance to prove to myself and the world that I will be okay.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs two blogs, Graves Publications and Collected Keepsakes. She currently writes for a platform called Medium.com and runs several publications through them. 

Christine is also an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures. 

A Month of Gratitude

"Being Grateful" by Christine Graves via Canva Pro

 

It's the month of November and I have a lot to be grateful for. There are days when it doesn't feel like it, but I do. I have to remember where I was even just a year ago and I've come a long way. I've spent the past year making my own way in this world while caring for my grandchild in the process. I know it sounds weird, but this really is the first time in my life I've had to do this all on my own.

Today, I'm grateful just to be here, typing this post out, being able to sit in my own home and play on a computer I paid for, with the help of the Internet I pay for each month. Does that sound bad? I hope not because that really is what I'm most grateful for. I'm grateful that I've had the drive to keep myself going even when I felt like throwing in the towel. 

I'm grateful that I've got a decent paying job and am able to afford a few small things. I don't go out to eat all the time and I've got to be careful with my spending habits, but I've been doing this for almost a year now. I just hope I can keep up the momentum. 

I'm grateful that I still have the power to get myself up each morning and get myself out the door. Trust me, it wouldn't take much for me to become a hermit and never come out of my cave. I don't have much of a filter anymore and it takes a lot for me to keep my mouth shut in certain situations. 

Finally, I'm grateful that I got to see the sunshine again today. I'm at the age now where I'm starting to see the obituaries of people I went to high school with. I know I could be next. I'm not getting any younger and though my health isn't horrible, I've had a few scares over the past couple of years. I'm so thankful that I'm still here to hug and kiss my grandbabies.

Throughout the month of November, I'll be posting about things I'm grateful for. I'm so thankful that I get to do this and I'm even more thankful for those of you who stop by to read my silly little things. I consider each of you a blessing.

I hope you have something to be grateful for today. May you all be blessed.

Until next time
Miss Chris

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Christine Graves has been writing online for nearly 30 years. She has written everything from fiction and poetry to reviews and ad campaigns. She runs two blogs, Graves Publications and Collected Keepsakes. She currently writes for a platform called Medium.com and runs several publications through them. 

Christine is also an avid collector of vintage anything and an arts-and-crafts kinda gal. She is a sucker for a garage/yard sale, secondhand stores, and auctions. Because of this, she's opened her first real online shop called Prairied Treasures.