You Didn't Know Me When

Good afternoon, my Lovelies!

I hope this blog finds you happy and healthy. I decided after my last blog that there are enough of you who are new here that I feel the need to re-introduce myself.

Let's start with the fact that I was born and raised in Kentucky - that's in the USA for my international followers. I grew up in a very small town where pretty much everybody knew everybody. My high school graduating class had less than 100 people in it.

I've worked as a carhop, a cashier, and a seamstress, and I've spent many an hour planting, hoeing, cutting, spiking, and hanging tobacco. I went to college after high school and majored in music, but when college party life got the better of me, I walked away. My life took a drastic turn the day I was hired to be a legal secretary at a local law firm and then decided to go back to school and get a paralegal degree. And yes, I worked for a number of years as a paralegal and office manager.

And, of course, I do none of this now as I'm currently working for the State with a vaccination program. (Psst - before I did that I worked with public health in their sexual and reproductive health and child health clinics. Good times...)

I've been married, divorced, and re-married, and I have two of the most amazing teenagers you will ever meet. They are beautiful, smart, talented, and the most loving people you will ever have the opportunity to be around. I've screwed up quite a bit in my life, but I feel like I did something right with them and their caring souls.

It was because of my children that I decided to leave the legal world and I spent quite a few years being a stay-at-home mom. I've worked in the local school district as a paraprofessional, and I've been a workout coach at a local gym. I've run a Girl Scout troop, and I spent several years coordinating Girl Scout Cookie sales for our entire service area.

I can comfortably load, unload, and shoot a gun, drive a five-speed manual transmission, and I'm certified to teach archery. I love to fish and find spending the day on a river bank drowning worms to be relaxing.

I grew up camping all over the Land Between the Lakes and not much calms me more than spending some time there. On the lake, in the lake, or stretched out beside a campfire and staring up at a clear sky full of stars - it all makes me happy.

Music (in all forms) is a major love of mine and I listen to pretty much everything. I also play several instruments - clarinet, saxophone, piano, and xylophone/marimba. I also sing - not very well, but I do it anyway. I've sung in front of decent-sized crowds, but the singing that meant the most to me was the singing that I did when I was rocking my babies to sleep.

I took dance lessons as a child and I've performed in community theater. Being on stage is in my blood and I've passed that love of performing down to my children.

Books have always had a special place in my heart. When the world around me gets to be too much, you can almost always find me escaping into another world inside a book. Writing stories has been a hobby and passion of mine since I was a teenager and having the opportunity to finally begin to share my stories with others has been such a blessing and dream come true.

My books are extremely graphic when it comes to sexual details, but they are also full of love, promise, and hope. I can't imagine that I will ever write a book that doesn't have a happy ending as I think that's what we all deserve. Steamy romance and heart smiles.

I've done some traveling, but nowhere near the amount I want to do. I've never been one for staying in one place too long even though I've only ever lived in two different states. That need to travel and be on the go is buried deep in my DNA and I'm thankful that I'm now getting the opportunity to indulge myself a bit.

I like to think that I'm a caring person, but I can guarantee you that there are people who will look at my life and the choices I've made and disagree. I give and give until there's nothing left sometimes and it takes a toll on me mentally, emotionally, and yes, sometimes even physically.

I don't allow people into my life easily. If I've chosen to allow you in, please know that it wasn't necessarily an easy decision for me. I've very rarely ever regretted letting someone in and even those people have been given multiple chances to prove me wrong before I cut them off completely. No, I don't offer my friendship and love lightly, so keep that in mind if I open myself to you.

I think that's a fairly quick but comprehensive overview for you. As always, I'd love to have some feedback from you. If there's something you want to know more about - no matter what it is - reach out to me. Don't be afraid to ask. I've got some great stories and I love to share them!

Until next time and as always,

Much love and heartfelt appreciation from me to you,

Shelly (a/k/a Dawn Love)

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