About Me

I grew up in Ridgeland, a suburb of Jackson, Mississippi, the only child of two people who got married when they were just kids and stayed in it for the long haul. Although it leads to all sorts of assumptions when people meet me for the first time, I love being from and having grown up in the South. Yes, we wear shoes, and we don't always marry our cousins. Unless they're cute. Just kidding. Really. Very few of us live on plantations. These days, Scarlett O'Hara has three kids and drives a minivan. We say, "sir" and "ma'am" and try to teach our kids to be gentlemen and ladies.
I decided that I wanted to be a veterinarian sometime during the third grade. I think it was because whenever anyone asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, the answer was always, "I just want to work with horses." My mother informed me that the only way I would ever work with horses and have any money was to be a vet. Based solely on the income of horse vets where I live, I consider it the only bad advice she ever gave me.
The only thing that I remember wanting to do even before becoming a vet was to be an writer. I have always enjoyed writing, and some days the voices in my head just have to get out. There's so much stuff swirling around up there it's not even funny.
I met my fabulous husband on our first day of vet school. We have been together 15 years, and married for 10 of those. We have three adorable daughters, three dogs, cats too numerous to count, two ponies, and eight horses, give or take a horse or two.
 While I was still in vet school, one day I announced in a small group setting that I wanted to get married and, were I to be blessed with children, be a stay at home mom. If looks could have killed, I'd have been dead on the floor. My feminist classmates were passing out right and left. I have since learned to be careful what you wish for. As a former professional and the proud mother of three girls under 6, I am not ashamed to say that motherhood is not always rainbows and unicorns. Add to that the fact that I lost my mom to cancer when I was 18, and it takes some major effort to keep this thing between the lines by myself.
Motherhood is not always what I thought it would be. Sometimes it's better. Other times I find myself standing at the threshold of hell! But I'm proud to say that sometime in my thirties, my husband taught me how to laugh at myself. I looked around and realized that our life is crazy, disorganized, often out of control, and REALLY freakin' funny. I know that there are lots of people out there who are in the same situation as me. I have lots of situations. My issues have issues. But some of them are your issues, too. Laughter really is the best medicine. So go spend your money on therapy, then come home and laugh with me.

"I love this crazy, tragic, sometimes almost magic, awful, beautiful life."  Darryl Worley