I'm Kathy, a 50-ish year-old wife and mom to four boys plus one angel in heaven. It took me a long time to find the frog that would become my prince. Once we were married, I felt certain I had my “happily ever after.”
For the most part, I got the life I always wanted, but little did I know the plot twists and turns that lay ahead for us. Infertility, cancer, autism, the loss of a child, and caring for a disabled spouse were just a few of the events I never saw coming. Raising four headstrong, busy, and loud boys never factored into my picture either!
Throughout the process, I learned that I was stronger and more capable than I ever thought.
Here at ‘kissing the frog’ I write about what really happens after you kiss the frog and all your dreams come true – the fun, the funny, the bad, the ugly, the love, laughter, grief, and struggles. I write about the real relationship between my frog prince and his bride, the pull-out-my-hair parenting moments with my boys, and my own personal struggles with self-esteem, happiness, losing my precious son, being a mom over 40, and my changing relationship with my hubby. I write with honesty and empathy in the hopes that my readers will feel understood and perhaps not so alone.
My Family
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| Stacie Kinney Photography |
This is what I thought my family would always look like: Hubby, Knox, Joey, Slim, Me, and Lil' C. A perfect family of six.
Until April of 2009 when tragedy struck our family, and we learned that Joey had an inoperable brain tumor. He lost his battle with cancer in June of 2010 when he was just six years old. My picture of what makes a "perfect" family was altered forever.
I slowly began to get used to the idea that my family was complete and unchanging. I marked my fortieth birthday by giving away all of my maternity clothes and baby items. But then, three months after I lost one precious son, I learned I was pregnant with another. And the picture of my family changed once again.
With the birth of Baby E in June of 2011, we became a family of six for a second time. Now I realize that life doesn't necessarily have a "happily ever after," finite ending. It changes all the time. There are so many bumps on the road of life, but as long as we are traveling that road together, I think we are going to be okay. Every day I am reminded of how wonderful our lives are, despite the challenges of the past and present.
If you want to know more about me, here are 100 other things to know. And here is my story in 50 words.
*Updated 6/2023
Life just keeps moving forward, even when you're not actively documenting it. I took a six-year hiatus from this blog from 2017-2023 to return to teaching. I "retired" in 2021 to care for my husband who has muscular dystrophy.
Our sons are now 19, 17, 15, and 12 (how did that happen?) and don't like me writing about them, much less showing their pictures. This is my family today:
Me, Hubby, and our four boys - Slim, a young adult with ADHD and high-functioning autism who is Joey's twin brother; Knox, now a high school senior; Big C (once Lil' C) a high school sophomore; and EJ (once Baby E or Edgie) our "delightful surprise," who is now a tween.
I still need an outlet, though, and I'm always writing something in my head. Sometimes, it makes its way into print.