Welcome to CAB’s Place!

Those who live with CAB and inhabit her real time place with her often show up in the daily posts.  This cast of characters is as follows:

CAB – you’ve probably already read about her in the About CAB page.  She’s the mom, the career educator, the wanna be writer and 40-something single person responsible for helping these kids make it to adulthood safely and with a minimum of “issues”…well, too late for that last part.

Number 1, a.k.a., Belle (because she looks just like Belle in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and she collects all things Disney princess, is 18 years old.  She entered the scene first and, until recently, really made parenting look easy.  She’s going to be a senior and will be flying the coop to go to college after she graduates. 

Number 2, a.k.a. Briggs, is a Wicked (the musical) addict and, at 15, already has her sights set on Broadway.  If not Broadway, I’m thinking she’ll make her fame and fortune in stand up comedy.  You should be so lucky to hear our dinner time entertainment.  There’s no cover, but there are lots of laughs.  By the way, Briggs took all the pictures on this page, except the ones of the dogs and the houseboat.  That little girl to the right there took these fab pics!  Can you believe that? 

 Number 3, a.k.a. “Little Mister”, is the only boy in the line up.  He hates that and would love to have a little brother, but that’s not going to happen here.  He’s 13, into all things sports related, can golf better than most men three times his age…and does…regularly.  The last time he played he was the only one in his foursome to make the 20-foot putt for par.  Everyone else he played with was over 45, including his own dad, who played golf on his high school and college teams.  Hmmmm.

 Number 4, a.k.a. Little Bear, Gootch, Cleb, Punkin, and Diva Central.  She’s 8, almost, with blonde billowy,usually-flying-everywhere hair and clear blue eyes.  She’s a frog/toad lover and a born naturalist. She loves math and writing, reading not so much.  She spent her first grade year in the same classroom her mother taught and that was a wonderful and horrible experience for both of us.  But we survived and we wouldn’t do one bit of it any differently.

  Dog Number One,  but definitely not the alpha dog.  In spite of her size she’s a little pussy cat, but I keep her around because she’s a nice alarm for strangers and her size makes anyone think twice about going any further.  She’s part chow…even though she looks like a teddy bear…would you tempt fate that way? 

 Dog Number 2, definitely the alpha dog of the home in spite of her diminuitive stature.  A mini doxie by all rights she has a maxi attitude.  She’ll let everyone know who’s boss.

 Ex Number 1 is the father of Belle, Briggs and Little Mister.  A decent but controlling sort.  We share legal and physical custody.  Divorce is never good, but truly, I think the two of us, in spite of the bumps, have done it the best it could ever be done for the sake of the kids.  We deserve medals…lol…just kidding about that.  He is married to the best stepmom my children could ever have.  I’m pleased he was able to find the perfect one for him and grateful it was her.

Ex Number 2 is Number 4’s dad.  Very different from Ex Number 1 in how he is choosing to cope with the divorce.  I’ve heard it said that as the marriage goes, so goes the divorce and that has been the case here.  Since the divorce was final, I can count on one hand the number of words he’s said directly to me.  On his behalf, I can say this, he’s really trying to follow the request I made a while back:  “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”.  I guess I can’t ask more than that.  I’m certainly grateful that there is no ongoing drama and everyone can now focus on moving forward and rebuilding their lives. 

The Setting:

Our lives take place in and around a 30-year-old fixer that has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, no dishwasher, a pool, a hot tub a large backyard and hours of work every week.  It was CAB’s first real estate deal and it is all hers, but the headaches are all hers too.  It isn’t the newest thing up on the hill but it is ours and it is cozy.  It’s obviously not the nicest house on the block.  It’s one of the worst on a pretty nice block though.  And…the location is ideal for a single mom of 4 who has a lot of driving around to do and not a bunch of time or gas money. At least we don’t have to worry about a landlord giving us 30 days notice any minute.  As long as we keep making the payments, its all good.  Here’s a picture:

 Just kidding!   There you have it.  That’s your introduction to the characters who inhabit CAB’s Place and who provide much fodder for posts and personal growth. 

~C.A. Brasseur, June 2008

Revised, December 2008