Putting Together My Puzzle

Those of you who follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Instagram have likely noticed some changes on each of my social media accounts. My usernames have all been changed. My cover photo and profile pictures have been changed. And I've made an announcement on Facebook.

Musings of a Single Mama is no more.

WHY??

Mr. Boston and I became engaged on August 1st. I knew at that point that I was going to change my blog name. I hadn't put much thought into it, though. After all, the wedding was 10 months away. Why would I need to change my blog name now??

Well, technically I didn't need to change my blog name. But I decided last week that I really wanted to. I've spent the past several years defining myself as a single mom. It's been all of who I am and my identity was sort of overrun by being a single mother. I didn't know what else to think of myself as. I hadn't graduated college, I didn't have a boyfriend, I wasn't really proud of any of my accomplishments.

But then I met Mr. Boston. And life started getting a little bit easier. And then life began getting a lot easier. The big difference? I had help. I wasn't used to having help, and it took me a while to adjust (and I'm still not entirely adjusted) but it made a huge difference. I honestly hadn't understood just how much was going on in my life that I could ask for help with. But Mr. Boston stepped in and just started helping. Sometimes without asking. Talk about an eye-opener.

I've always been a proud person. I've always strived to be an independent person and hold my own. I've never liked asking for help. And I am still all of those things. Trust me, Mr. Boston knows that I am still all of those things. So he just does things for me. Like I said, I still haven't entirely gotten used to it.

What's amusing to me is that he's helping with the little things that have always seemed like the big things. Folding laundry, for example, is such a little thing but was always time consuming so it seemed like a big thing. Now I don't have to worry about it because he's willing to help me fold laundry or do it for me. He also does dishes, cleans out the cars, takes care of the dogs, etc. All those small things that just seemed like so much before.

Oh, and he helps KBug with her homework. This year homework hasn't been as much of a fight as it was last year. KBug hasn't been as stressed as she was last year (the bully is no longer at the school) and she's more willing to do her homework because she is often in a better mood. But it would still be thirty minutes each day that I would have to set aside to help her. I don't mind helping her or supervising her, but it's thirty minutes that I could also be using to grade papers or clean up my classroom. And now that Mr. Boston is around, I have that extra thirty minutes and it has been such a blessing to have just that little bit of extra time.

So since Mr. Boston and I began dating, I haven't really felt like a single mom. I haven't felt like I'm carrying the burden all on my own. I haven't felt like it's all up to me and like I always have to be the one to do everything. I have help. It may seem small to many of you, but it's big to me. It's really big.

And that's the main reason I decided to change the name of the blog. I've begun realizing that I am not just a single mom. And I'm realizing that I wasn't ever just a single mom. I am so much more than that, and I always have been. It's an amazing discovery. But since that discovery I have felt as though I've been lying when I write under the name of "Single Mama". So I decided it was time for a change.

I chose to call my blog "Putting Together My Puzzle". I am, slowly but surely, learning what all of the pieces of my puzzle are. I have so many things going on in my life right now and everything finally seems to be fitting into place. It's like each part of my life is, literally, a piece of my own personal puzzle. Therefore, I am "Putting Together My Puzzle" and I am doing it "One Piece at a Time". Over time you will see me talk about the different pieces of my puzzle and how they are starting to fit together. It may not look like much, and you may not always see how they fit together. Heck, maybe I won't even understand how it all works. But I'm going to write about it until I do understand.

CHANGES??

 

There will be some changes happening over the course of the next several weeks and posts.

 

The biggest change I plan to make is the use of names. It's always been evident that my name is Christine. I've never shied away from letting my name be known. It's never bothered me.

 

So why did it bother me to use the first names of my family members? Or of friends? Or of my fiancée? Well, I really don't know. So I'm going to introduce the key members to you now.

 

KBug is Kaley.

Mr. Boston is Pat.

Gramma. Well, she'll always be Gramma.

PJP is my brother Patric.

CKP is my sister Caitlin.

Mom and Poppa will remain Mom and Poppa.

 

Other than that, I will introduce other people as I go along and as needed. But that gives you the names of those I tend to talk about most.

 

For the moment, Kaley's father will remain the Ex Husband. It is possible that could change at some point, but I don't know if that's necessary. Honestly, there is such little interaction these days that it's hardly worth mentioning most of the time.

 

Other changes? Those will be mostly cosmetic. My header may change slightly, or my button, or the look and feel of my page. Obviously the name of my Facebook page will change. It's already in the works, but I have to wait for Facebook to allow the change to take place.

 

My email has also changed and can be accessed using the social media buttons in the sidebar. All the other social media buttons have also been changed to reflect the change in usernames.

 

At this point in time, I think that's all that I have for you. It's possible that other things will change as I create this new image for the blog and associated pages. But I will do my best to keep you all in the loop as the occur.

 

If you made it to the end of this post, all I can say is thank you. It's long and probably somewhat boring. But I felt it was important to tell you why I made the changes I have and what the changes are and will be. I like to keep you all in the know!