The Family

OK…so now we have that out of the way, I want to formally introduce myself. My name is Elika and I am an early thirty something soccer mom of two and have been married for 16 years…to the same man. High school sweethearts since I was 14, me a freshman and Carl a senior. We married when I was 18, just 5 months after high school. We are opposite in every way that you would think would not allow a marriage to work, but it does. Political views, religious views, just keep thinking of the most important things that make a husband and wife a unified team…and not us. I don’t believe we are compatible in any marriage counselor’s eyes. But with 16 years behind us…we’re good. I work in collections, in the property management industry. Not the most glamorous profession, but I love the people I work with, and the schedule I have (6:30am-2:30pm)…so I’m good. Collections was never a plan I had…but who has that in their plan?? I started out as a photographer. I love shooting people; there is something about catching them at the most vulnerable time, that just moves me. And that was my plan; I was going to be a photographer. I successfully did that for about 5 years…and then came Kyah. She stole my heart. And after trying to make it work with running a photography studio, with her there with me…I had to choose…and I chose her.

Carl is a 37 year old motorcycle mechanic, for the past near 16 years. He works for a place he is miserable, but he’s good at it and it pays more than changing careers. I think there is more a comfort factor than he is willing to admit. Remember I said 37 year old, right…well that is only in birth years. Mentally I am married to an early 20 something, very early. Between his boat, motorcycles, jet skies, guns, paintball guns, RC vehicles, he is the epitome of; “Big Boys and Their Toys”. He is a transplanted Texan from Florida since 1994, and he fought every minute of it for years. Then one day he just snapped and realized what a great place we live in…with the lakes, all the riding locations, basically the perfect place to play with all his toys. And now after saying for years and years, he could not shoot an animal…he is a hunter. It is official…He is a Texan.

 My older daughter, Kyah is in 6^th grade….enough said! All the sudden I have this ½ little girl, ½ teen, and geeze, do both of those personalities go to war every 5 minutes. You couldn’t pay me to be that age again. A very good student, who happily goes to tutoring to make sure she is staying up on her grades. What would I do without tutoring…yes I said I. She is in AP math, I swear she is learning things I never saw while in school...but there is always a chance I blocked that out due to permanent mental scarring. So I am no help what so ever to her, but I did show her how to look up tutorials on line. I don’t think I have ever appreciated the internet more. She plays Division 1 soccer, and has played since she was 3. It is her life as much as breathing is.

Now for my little Celiac; Teagan is 8 years old, but acts like she going to turn 12 at next birthday. I guess that is because she is the younger sister and secretly looks up to her big sister. Everything seems to come easy for her. I think it’s because even though she is tiny for her age, she is so darn cute and has a personality as big as they come. Teagan loves to read, always has a book to her face, she gets good grades, but it is a struggle to keep her on task and focused because she is such a busy body. Everyone remembers her, because she is unforgettable. Tiny little frame, olive skin, long brown straight hair, and huge blue doe eyes. And man…can she use those eyes like a weapon. She also is a soccer player since age 4, and a really good one. She plays in an academy league which is training ground for select. And again, maybe because of her big sister, Teagan has a natural talent for soccer. It comes much easier to her, than Kyah who has to work at it. Teagan has surprised me how well she has taken on her new Celiac lifestyle. But she feels good now, no more chronic stomach aches, no more spitting up her acid reflux, and she has grown a bit. Now we have to be careful since she has been on her diet, if she has any gluten, she gets so sick; vomiting, severe lethargy, awful stomach pains and having to take meds that may or may not help the symptoms, that have there own symptoms. So that is a bit of incentive to not sway from her diet.