Meli's world

  I tried to write this while we were in Trinidad last week and I was inspired by my surroundings. Mountains!!! Something we never see in Florida. It's funny cause just a couple of days before that I heard Usher blaring somewhere and I remembered what I considered my favorite song at one point ::: Moving mountains. You know the sappy love-break up R&B song???    About 5 years ago I could relate to everything that song was saying. A love gone wrong. The bad taking away the good. lyrics from Usher's "Moving Mountains" Trying and trying and nothing seeming to work. I really contemplated divorce at this point in my life. My husband and I had been married close to 6 years and had a baby boy. We were struggling to make it out of my parents house and everything seemed to be a fight. I don't know looking back I felt a lot of resentment for entering marriage so young with nothing, struggling to find an affordable place where we could feel ...

Note: I am a 26 year old woman who has been with my husband for 11 years and married 10. I am writing this in response to a column entitled "5 reasons we can't handle marriage anymore". I think marriage is one of the greatest relationships we can experience and wanted to paint a picture to the other side of the story. Marriages today can still work. The million dollar question? How? Its a pretty simple concept- you choose to love, to commit and share your life together. Our great grandparents and grandparents did it. and for many of us so did our parents. How can we? Many of you will ask what me gives me the right to share my opinion. I've been married myself. And I'm only one of the many people today who have succeeded at marriage. And while some of us have decided to persevere at marriage for better or worse, others have chosen divorce and convinced themselves they're better off. These same people, though, are quick to point the finger...

I said yes.... and no he did't just propose and its not a big rock on my finger. Its actually the ring we bought 10 years ago on his Checker's (fast food restaurant) salary. It is real gold and has real diamonds, but I had to laugh at the fact we picked it out inside Kmart's jewelry department. Its funny someone asked me about the other day since I still wear it on my right hand from time to time... and it just dawned on me, that was our "engagement" and "wedding ring" for a long time.  Today is not our wedding anniversary. Today marks 11 years together. It was Friday the 13th in that warm February that we became more than friends. It's also kind of ironic that I name titled this blog "I said yes" cause on this particular day that we celebrate every year, I didn't actually say yes. Nothing was asked. He had actually called me that Tuesday evening to tell me he "liked" me. The week progressed by me telling him I did ...

Many of you who read my blogs are people who know me, or have known or met me at some point in their lives. Just because we talk, doesn't mean you know me, who I am, who I've been, or what I've been through. I'm sure most of you see me as this "religious" married mother.... Some of you may remember me as the girl that was barely in high school, or the boy crazy smart overachiever middle school girl, or some of you now know me as the church going woman I am today. But all of this is only bits and pieces of what has made me.... And what is still molding me and changing my life by His grace and power. I don't tell everyone I know my story, I am sure not everyone is interested. But I believe our personal stories can be of help to others and I have no reason to be ashamed of the mistakes I've made. I was raised "Catholic". Not a devout catholic, but I did get "baptized" by the sprinkling of the water as a baby, did my first commun...

As most of you know my husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary together just a couple weeks ago. It was an extraordinary blessing to know that even as young kids we were able to come this far and surpass most people's expectations. I made a slideshow for him as a surprise and it took me back through everything we have been through . From high school proms, dates, our first apartment, our puppy, our kids, our home.... And I couldn't believe that we had accomplished so much in those years that still seem a blink of an eye. Things were tough. Teenage newly weds should say it all. There we so many hurdles and obstacles to overcome due to our limitations, and I kept waiting for my happily ever after. I kept telling myself I'd be enjoying the married life once we got our own place. Then once we had kids, and after all the hard times that included unemployment, a dislocated ankle, c sections and extended maternity leaves, and living with my parents, I kept telling my...