Week 1: Personal Introductions

My name is Erika Michelle Richards, but everyone just calls me Michelle.  Well, not everyone.  Some call me mommy.  But that's jumping the gun just a bit, so let me start at the beginning.

I was born in El Paso, Texas.  I grew up mostly in Roswell, New Mexico, before it was ruined by all the alien/tourist propaganda.  I have more colorful words to describe it, but propaganda works for the purpose of this blog.  We moved around alittle bit during my early years, because after my father retired from the US Army (signal corp), he got a job as a journeyman electrician for the FAA.  However, once he retired from that job, my family moved to eastern Texas--Texarkana to be exact, and that's where I call home, now.

I went to college after highschool and earned my A.S. in Chemistry from Texas A&M-Texarkana.  And that's when I met my husband.  He was not in college at the time, but I worked part time in a bookstore to make extra money while going to school.  He came into the store one day, we spoke about books and coffeeshops for a while, and next thing I knew, we were dating.  At the time, he was waiting for a waiver from the Surgeon General to come through so that he could join the military.  Prior to him joining, we got married, and then he shipped out shortly after that for his training.  I used that time to concentrate on school and finish.

Once I finished school and joined him at his first duty station, Fort Bragg, NC, my life was transformed into a whirlwind of fulltime wife and mother---after our first born child was born.  I spent the next twelve years being a very dedicated Army Wife and stay-at-home-mom.  We had a few moves during that time, too, which is to be expected with the military life.  But overall, I was happy.

Our third child, was born with many medical problems.  And our life has been one big rollercoaster dealing with his needs and still trying to meet the demands of the military and two other children.  But last spring I decided I wanted to go back to school.  And so here I am, taking my twelfth or so class through NOVA.  I working towards a BA in psychology, and will eventually earn my MA in Applied Behaviorial Analysis.  ABA's work with mostly autistic children, and after a very long journey with my youngest son, that is what I've decided I want to do. 

Meanwhile, due to military obligations, I'm in my second consequetive year of my husband being gone.  So I've been doing this without much help.  It hasn't been easy.  Many times, I find myself staying up all night completing homework for my school because the day was filled with doctor appointments, therapies, tae kwon do, piano lessons, etc.  Afterall, my children's needs do not stop just because I've gone back to school.

As a result of my very full plate of responsibilities, and basically single parenting it, most of my "hobbies" have been put on hold for a while.  If, on the rare occasion, I can grab a few minutes to myself, I like to sit down and watch a movie, or atleast parts of it and enjoy a cold mountain dew, or if my kids have gone to bed, maybe a glass of wine.  I'm not that big of a drinker, though, so it's usually a mt dew.

So there you have it.  I'm a mom of three beautiful children, wife of a dedicated soldier (who, luckily, is also just as dedicated to his wife and children), trying to do the best I can by my family while still continuing to improve myself.