Monday- Life before Kids
I was born in Tarrytown, NY on May 1, 1988 at 6:01pm. My father was 19 (he turned 20 twelve days after I was born) and my mother was 23. My father was a teenage runaway with failed dreams of being a rock star. He worked in the heating and AC business but partied like he was in Van Halen until he finally got sober when I was in 6th grade. My mom was a SAHM who formula fed me from birth but never did CIO and we frequently co-slept. We moved to Connecticut when I was in first grade. My sister was born when I was a few months shy of 6 years old. I was not pleased. I was a total ham and the only child in the family, and although very shy, I enjoyed being the center of attention. My sister and I fought constantly and did not get along until a couple years ago. She was born legally blind and lost vision completely in one eye when she was in Kindergarten. My mom home schooled her from 7th grade on. I became a vegetarian sometime in elementary school and I've been vegetarian ever since.
My mom and dad with me at my 1st birthday party.
Me being a ham with my godmother and mom at one of my birthday parties.
Dorky soccer picture.
I was an excellent student and loved learning. I played soccer and was a member of winterguard. My passion was creative writing and literature. I was top of my class and scored in the top 1% on the SATs. Then mental illness set in. I battled depression, severe OCD, anxiety, eating disorders, and self-harm. My first hospitalization occurred when I was 14 or 15. My father left my mother when I was 16 very unexpectedly. We lost our house and I lost my faith in just about everything. I threw away my grades. I ended up graduating early and moving to NYC where I went to school for creative writing when I managed to get out of bed. I got caught up with some East Village delusions of being the love child of James Dean and Jack Kerouac. When I managed to turn in papers they would be streaked with eyeliner and stained with absinthe. Eventually I got my act together a little and managed to score a great job in web publishing focusing on copywriting and
SEO. I worked as a nanny for a US magistrate and did a few modeling gigs on the side for extra cash. After a disastrous breakup with a longtime abusive boyfriend, I went into an emotional tailspin again and ended up moving back home and relapsing with my eating disorder. I needed inpatient treatment again. I really set my mind on recovering and living a cleaner lifestyle. I no longer drink, smoke, or party. I stopped writing and my hobby became reading and studying Russian and French literature.
Picture of me after a poetry reading back in college.
Oh, and I'm kind of obsessed with cats. When I was a kid my best friend was my cat (I was so painfully shy...). She passed away when I was in college and I adopted 2 cats shortly after and they are really a part of the family.
My two cats, Audrey (the tabby) and Abby (who is actually a boy). They are from the same litter.