Hi. I’m Kris.
I’m a wife and mother of three living in the middle.
Of my sibilings, I’m number three of four.
Of my life, I’m in my forties. Middle-aged.
I’m not the first, nor the last.
I’m not young, but not that old.
I’m ordinary. An ordinary, middle-aged woman, living smack dab in the middle.
I wish I could say I was an expert in taking pictures of food and cooking. I’m not.
I wish I could say I was a fitness expert and know all there is to know about how to take people to their optimum fitness level. I’m not.
I wish I could say I am the wisest of mothers and could offer advice for any age, stage or anything to do with raising children in today’s world because of my calm, practical, maternal wisdom. I’m not. I love my kids but most days I don’t have a clue.
I’m not an expert at anything.
I watch too much TV.
I like to dance even though growing up I was told it would earn me a one-way ticket to hell.
I like to cook. I like to eat. I like to work out. I love my children intensely and fiercely.
Here’s a bit more about me.
I was born and raised in Southwestern Ontario, Canada into an Amish Mennonite family. My dad died before I turned two and my mom remarried six months later. I was raised on a dairy farm and we also collected eggs from 10,000 chickens every day. The year I turned 12, I watched both my sisters get married. One was 19 and the other was 17. That year I made a vow to myself that I would never get married, never live on a farm, and never have children, but perhaps not quite in that order.
I graduated from high school when I was 17 and took my inheritance money and ran. That is to say, I got on a plane, flew to Southern California to attend a tiny private Christian College that I had not previously visited, and where I knew no one. I was certain there were no Mennonite men there who would want to marry me and move me to their farm as I had watched my sisters do. That was all I needed to know. I graduated in four years with a degree in elementary education and two days after I graduated, I told a guy from Iowa that yes, I would be his wife.
He’s a farmer. We have three children. We live on a farm. We even have chickens.
Never say never.
Why do I want to blog?
I’m hoping that I can convince myself that I’m not as ordinary as I seem. I’m hoping that I’m not as silly as I sometimes think I am. I carry a load of ‘shoulds’ and ‘if onlys’, and feel bogged down by them and by the weight of dreams not realized. Maybe they are realized and I just don’t see it. Maybe I’m not ordinary or silly. Maybe I’m more shiny and sparkly than I give myself credit for. Maybe it’s time to not be afraid of failing and just try something, simply because I can. I did that once and it felt really good.
That’s why I want to blog.
I’m hoping that documenting my journey will prove to myself that life really is an adventure, even if it’s not the one you planned on.
I’m hoping that there are other women out there who want to follow me on my journey because they too are convinced that they are not just ordinary women, with ordinary stories, but that somewhere underneath all the everyday stuff that is life, there is a 17 year old girl who still hopes and dreams and hops on airplanes to Southern California chasing an adventure.
Ready?
