Tarrise… (I’m on the right)
HI, I’m Tarrise, this is my given name but for some unknown reason my Mom called me Trasi from the moment we got home from the hospital. And yes she spelled it just like that. I’m here to share my story with you.
In The Beginning
My life began in Los Angeles in the 50’s, quite the thing. I remember the song “Yellow Polka-Dot Bikini” like it was yesterday and of course all those beach party movies with Frankie and Annette (Sing with me M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E!). My Mom had a little MG convertible and we would wiz around with our scarves on and the top down. What a life. I was 5 years old.
The Middle
Then I grew up and lived a “real” life. I went to work, got married, got divorced, kept working, went to college, worked some more, raised step-children, raised other people’s kids, worked some more, got divorced again.
The End
It was Thursday afternoon when the phone at my desk rang. Mom was at the other end a little frantic. My Grandmother was on the way to the hospital, she had a stroke. It was clear Mom needed my help to take care of her so I moved out of my house and in to hers. This would be my life now. About a year after my Grandmother died, Mom got cancer. Within a year, Mom had died too.
At this point I was older, and I felt it. Life hadn’t been going as planned and all of a sudden I had no real direction. My entire adult life had been spent taking care of others. Between my family, my jobs, my husband(s), my children, my horses (and animals) there wasn’t a lot left to take care of me. I just felt lost. My life felt like a deep black hole with no apparent light at the end of the tunnel. I was stunned. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
Thank God for family! When I needed it the most, I had a place to regroup and recover. After a couple of years, I was better but still a wreck. It was obvious that I could either, sit and let the world close in on me until I no longer had breath OR I could do something different.
After many days and weeks of reading, thinking, talking and trying to sort my life out the proverbial light went on one day and I realized there were options!!!! I was lucky enough to have the “opportunity and pleasure” (said with a modicum of sarcasm) to reinvent who I wanted to be. It was time for a change! This is when the real fun (hard work) began. I packed up the car, left Missouri, and came to Arizona where I promptly changed my first name back to Tarrise. Just that one change and WOW things were different! It wasn’t really that simple but what an amazing start. For your sake I am omitting all the gory details here!
The Now
That brings me today. I live in Arizona and I LOVE it. I am a school bus driver, and I LOVE it. I’m a world traveler, and I LOVE it. I’m happy with who I am now and I LOVE it. The results of my labor, Tarrise 2.0, are a success. My deepest wish is that in some way, sharing my craziness will help someone else find peace. If you are searching for some fun, some insight, and some interesting new adventures, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to our crazy little corner of life!!!!!
