'About Me' in 1200 words or less?

I went to fill out the 'About Me' profile on this blog account, but geesh! I'm not sure if anybody has ever experienced me using 1200 words or less to describe myself?! I'm not narcissistic, or egotistical...but to limit me to 1200 words, well that's simply absurd.

My parents rocked. They were the epitome of Family in the eyes of a child growing up with them. Well, maybe not while  growing up. But when talking to others about my childhood, I find myself completely nostalgic and complimentary to what amazing, selfless, tender parents they were. (I use past tense because, even though they're still amazing, we're talking 'About Me'!). They were young parents, 20 years older than me, exactly. They were sacrificial, in a way I never, ever even realized until running a family of my own. My mom stayed home with us until my younger sister was school age, and then went to work at our school part time. My dad worked two jobs..got up in the dark morning, worked all day, and then went to work after his full time job, in the evenings, for half of the year, for many years. They did this to feed our dreams. I mean really...WHO does that?! My parents! We went to church every Sunday. And Sunday night. And Wednesday night. And though my spiritual beliefs are a bit different now than they were growing up (which I expressed to my youth group leader at 17 years old), it instilled this deep sense of Faith and comfort in me. I, being the eldest daughter of two, have always felt that they held me up to impossible standards. But as a parent myself, I realize that they just wanted me to reach my potential. I was a half-ass kind of kid. Extremely competitive, and inspired to be the best at the things I wanted, when I wanted..on my terms...when it came down to a competition or contest (think 14 years of extremely competitive Swimming, Spelling Bees, Speech competitions, etc). But if it wasn't something that fired me internally, I was a coaster. Looking into my own soul, I find a pretty even 50/50 split of both of my parents.
Alright...they raised me well, put time and mounds of effort into me, encouraged, loved, disciplined, supported, spanked, grounded, yelled, laughed, cried all alongside, behind my back and to my face. They created my base system.

I married this guy in 2000. We're complete opposites, raised 100% different than each other. He comes from a broken home with four siblings, him being the youngest. His parents are 40 years older than him, and came from the era just prior to parents being extremely involved in their kids lives and activities (according to him). He has some wonderful memories from his childhood and has quite the comedic personality! I can only imagine what a fun kid he was! I used to try and imagine and would him a million questions! When we first married, he wasn't sure he wanted kids. He knew we'd have them, but wasn't sure if he wanted to bring them into this world, or under his guidance when he wasn't sure exactly what to do with them. He wasn't quite sure what Family meant to him, and he was always open about that, talking about it often. He wasn't convinced that creating a Family was the smartest choice for him. I reassured him that everyone feels like that before they had kids (I lied..as I didn't believe that! I knew from 10 years old that I wanted children when I grew up. Until I had my first child, in fact, I wanted six!).

We've been through a lot together, this guy and I. Life, loss, vacations, creations, friendships, elementary school for the second time, diagnosis' and on and on. And the one thing I've learned, is that I am a better Me with this guy. There are days when the better me is rancid. Tired. Fat. Frumpy. Fabulous. Motivated. Lazy. Empowered. And at the end of each day, he kisses me and tells me how much he loves me. No matter which Me presented itself that day. He gives me lots of praise and appreciation. As I do the same for him. We appreciate each other. We appreciate our efforts.

These people, these pillars in my life have molded my sense of being. They've all provided doses of every single quality that I possess, the good and the bad. But it is me, and I'm pretty proud of that.

About Me: 

I'm feisty. Opinionated. Supportive. I'm a Mom. An Advocate. A caregiver. I'm a nurturer. A comedian. A foodie. A wine-o. A wife. I'm a sister. An Auntie. A friend. I'm independent. Strong. Human. I make a shit ton of mistakes, but only once. I'm Becca, and I'm about to take you on an incredible journey...or so we'll call it that...of life under one roof with a 10 year old girl with Autism, a 7 year old girl with a processing deficit and severe ADHD and an 80 year old dad/grandpa who's residing in the bedroom sandwiched in between all of us!