Donna Simpson
The Whole Truth
Back in Ohio
Published by Donna Simpson in The Journey • 9/26/2011 4:55:02 PM
I left New Jersey on June 15th with Jacqueline and Devin and headed back home.
We were headed toward a new beginning. Luckily, my childhood friend, David offered to let the kids and I stay with him until we could find a place of our own. He fixed up the place for us and it seemed like a comfortable environment, at least temporarily. I was glad to have a fresh start but I wasn’t ready for the welcome that awaited us.
The house was haunted! I know how that sounds, but I don’t know how else to describe the things that happened. David had to open up a wing of the house that was closed off for quite a while. During the first week that we moved in David kept hearing something that sounded like bagpipes coming from my room. He was asking me about the “music” I was playing, but there wasn’t any. Then he told me he had seen something run out of my room, turn the corner, streak through the living room and finally disappear into the dining room wall.
The next strange occurrence was when David was painting the walls. He needed to move his grandfather clock and had to remove the weights because it was too heavy. Physics would dictate that the pendulum would stop swinging upon removing them, but it just kept going. At the time, my friend, Louise was over and she thought this was very entertaining. The clock continued to move for the next half hour, but stopped the minute Louise left. Maybe she was playing a practical joke, I’m not sure. The other thing I found pretty creepy was when the family was watching TV in the living room, where David keeps a bunch of books suspended above the couch in some netting. The books started swinging back and forth right above Devin’s head. I don’t really know what caused all of this stuff, but David kept telling me that there were ghosts in the house and that they were his friends. I guess David and his spirits don’t want me living in the house and quite frankly, I can’t wait until we’re out of here and are no longer a burden to him. He has been great to my family, but I need to find our own place.
I promised to discuss some of the weight loss options that may become available to me and I’m really grateful to all the people that offered their help. I know there is going to be a drastic change in diet and some sort of physical exercise program, but I was really intrigued by an e-mail that was sent to me by a U.S. Marine named Eric who lives in California. He mentioned that as a Marine, he knew all about exercise and discipline. He talked about “having someone help you construct realistic goals” and offered to be my “by e-mail coach.” Here is Eric’s offer: If you want a by-email coach simply for the purpose of helping you gently work into an exercise routine which won't push you to hard, someone to report progress to and also to be willing to listen to for coaching, feel free to ask. I think this might be a good idea once I have my physician, therapist, and nutritionist in place.
One person that I keep thinking about is a woman named Sherrie. Sherrie was Philippe’s girlfriend before we met. She had gastric bypass surgery and went from 600 Lbs. to 300 Lbs. I’m a little cautious about having any kind of surgery and if I can lose weight without going under the knife, I’ll be much happier. By the way, when I moved in with Philippe, Sherrie was going through a difficult period and had no place to live, so she stayed with Philippe and my family for a while. We actually got along quite well and now several years later she is engaged to a man I had fixed her up with. They are getting married next year on the Fourth of July. How patriotic! I am quite the match maker for others, lol.
It feels nice being back where I grew up and having the familiar places along with some friendly faces in this difficult time. I am especially thankful for all the help that my friend Robbie has given my family. He was my very first boyfriend and he is still someone that I can always count on. Thank you for everything, Robbie! Next week he wants to take Jacqueline to the zoo and hopefully we can have a nice family outing with him. In the meantime, Jacqueline’s new favorite thing is singing “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” That’s right; she saw Mary Poppins for the first time and is totally hypnotized by that movie. Devin is getting settled in his new school and I hope he continues his pursuits in musical theatre. He’s really talented, although all he can think about lately is driving. He just got his learner’s permit and is always asking David if he can drive. Oh boy, they grow up so fast. I hope the right doctors come along soon, so I can start dieting. Jacqueline tells me every night about all the wonderful things we can do together after I lose weight.
I feel especially blessed to have found a Church and a Pastor that have welcomed me into the Congregation. I need all the help I can get and my faith is really important to me. Once again, I want to thank all the people that wrote to me that I was in their prayers.
Donna
We were headed toward a new beginning. Luckily, my childhood friend, David offered to let the kids and I stay with him until we could find a place of our own. He fixed up the place for us and it seemed like a comfortable environment, at least temporarily. I was glad to have a fresh start but I wasn’t ready for the welcome that awaited us.
The house was haunted! I know how that sounds, but I don’t know how else to describe the things that happened. David had to open up a wing of the house that was closed off for quite a while. During the first week that we moved in David kept hearing something that sounded like bagpipes coming from my room. He was asking me about the “music” I was playing, but there wasn’t any. Then he told me he had seen something run out of my room, turn the corner, streak through the living room and finally disappear into the dining room wall.
The next strange occurrence was when David was painting the walls. He needed to move his grandfather clock and had to remove the weights because it was too heavy. Physics would dictate that the pendulum would stop swinging upon removing them, but it just kept going. At the time, my friend, Louise was over and she thought this was very entertaining. The clock continued to move for the next half hour, but stopped the minute Louise left. Maybe she was playing a practical joke, I’m not sure. The other thing I found pretty creepy was when the family was watching TV in the living room, where David keeps a bunch of books suspended above the couch in some netting. The books started swinging back and forth right above Devin’s head. I don’t really know what caused all of this stuff, but David kept telling me that there were ghosts in the house and that they were his friends. I guess David and his spirits don’t want me living in the house and quite frankly, I can’t wait until we’re out of here and are no longer a burden to him. He has been great to my family, but I need to find our own place.
I promised to discuss some of the weight loss options that may become available to me and I’m really grateful to all the people that offered their help. I know there is going to be a drastic change in diet and some sort of physical exercise program, but I was really intrigued by an e-mail that was sent to me by a U.S. Marine named Eric who lives in California. He mentioned that as a Marine, he knew all about exercise and discipline. He talked about “having someone help you construct realistic goals” and offered to be my “by e-mail coach.” Here is Eric’s offer: If you want a by-email coach simply for the purpose of helping you gently work into an exercise routine which won't push you to hard, someone to report progress to and also to be willing to listen to for coaching, feel free to ask. I think this might be a good idea once I have my physician, therapist, and nutritionist in place.
One person that I keep thinking about is a woman named Sherrie. Sherrie was Philippe’s girlfriend before we met. She had gastric bypass surgery and went from 600 Lbs. to 300 Lbs. I’m a little cautious about having any kind of surgery and if I can lose weight without going under the knife, I’ll be much happier. By the way, when I moved in with Philippe, Sherrie was going through a difficult period and had no place to live, so she stayed with Philippe and my family for a while. We actually got along quite well and now several years later she is engaged to a man I had fixed her up with. They are getting married next year on the Fourth of July. How patriotic! I am quite the match maker for others, lol.
It feels nice being back where I grew up and having the familiar places along with some friendly faces in this difficult time. I am especially thankful for all the help that my friend Robbie has given my family. He was my very first boyfriend and he is still someone that I can always count on. Thank you for everything, Robbie! Next week he wants to take Jacqueline to the zoo and hopefully we can have a nice family outing with him. In the meantime, Jacqueline’s new favorite thing is singing “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” That’s right; she saw Mary Poppins for the first time and is totally hypnotized by that movie. Devin is getting settled in his new school and I hope he continues his pursuits in musical theatre. He’s really talented, although all he can think about lately is driving. He just got his learner’s permit and is always asking David if he can drive. Oh boy, they grow up so fast. I hope the right doctors come along soon, so I can start dieting. Jacqueline tells me every night about all the wonderful things we can do together after I lose weight.
I feel especially blessed to have found a Church and a Pastor that have welcomed me into the Congregation. I need all the help I can get and my faith is really important to me. Once again, I want to thank all the people that wrote to me that I was in their prayers.
Donna