Hello My Name Is

In the spirit of meditation...

Let's begin again, shall we?

It's been a while since I've written on a public platform.  

Some of you have met me.  

Some of you are just meeting me.

Some of you, well...welcome back - it's been a minute, eh?

My name is Kimberly.  

While I have gone by several last names, I currently go by Brown.  Kimberly Brown.

My stage name...I mean, social media identity is The Texas Ginger.

I have three biological daughters and one bonus daughter.  The two older girls share a birthday, two years apart that happens to fall on my mom's birthday.  The youngest was a surprise (another blog post in and of itself) and has her own birthday, yet still in the same month as the older two.  Their ages at this time of writing are 21, 19, 17 (bonus) and 10.  I will refer to them as Oldest, Middlest, 2nd Middlest and Littlest throughout my writings.

If you met me, you'd soon learn I listen beyond any words you are saying.

I'm HILARIOUS...like, very funny.  Even 'witty' in some circles.  Always looking for the pun.

I take too much pleasure in saying, out loud, what everyone else is thinking and wishes they had the nerve to say.  

You probably would never guess the following highlights from my life:

Abortion

1st 'marriage'

(I use air quotes because we never even lived together...again, a blog post in and of itself)

Divorced within a year

2nd marriage

2 kids 
(the oldest and middlest)

2nd divorce

3rd marriage

3 miscarriages

1 birth with a heart defect, passing away 5 weeks later

      FUN FACT: she was born on her grandpa's birthday

1 alive and well
(the littlest)

Another miscarriage, the last
If you math, that's 6 pregnancies

3rd divorce

Told to leave the church

4th marriage
(bonus daughter - 2nd middlest)

Navigating adult children, oldest and middlest 

Balancing blendedness of littlest and 2d middlest

Trying to remain relatable while co-parenting the littlest

Sounds pretty gnarly, eh?  

MARRIED four times...tsk tsk...

        Garth Brooks - Standing Outside The Fire

Her baby died....so sad

         Mercy Me - Bring The Rain

So many MISACARRIAGES...poor thing...

KICKED OUT of church ...oh my  (do they still do that?)

          

And so on.

What if you had context?  

Some of you reading this DO have context.  You've heard the backstory (some lived through it with me, holding my hand, drying my tears, supporting both 'good' and 'bad' decisions - loving me anyway).  And what-ya-know, you stuck around.  You call me friend.

Some reading this may have context from YOUR perspective.  You once called me friend and at some point, decided (or were told) to stop calling me friend.  I venture to say that was at about the 'Kicked Out Of Church' chapter.  

Some of you have just met me.  I hope you'll stick around.  My hope is we will find common ground.  Perhaps we can be a source of encouragement to one another.  

Some of you may kindly think you know all the things and end up walking away.

Both choices are ok.

Because I'M ok.

I am a work in progress, pursuing growth through self-reflection, owning my stuff, pickin' up the pieces while bumbling on into the next day, the next moment.

I still make mistakes (ask any of the kids or my husband...lol).  

All of this to say, will you join me?

Join me on the journey of growth, kindness, and being.  

I want to curate a space where we can agree to disagree.  

Be respectfully curious.

Engage in thoughtful conversations with a motive to learn.  

Let's enjoy the fact we are not all that different.   

Who's in?

I remain, Humbled, Buoyed and Blessed 

And always, I invite you to take 10 minutes to

Just Be

The Texas Ginger

Bringing World Peace, One Hug At A Time