EVERYTHING IS PERSONAL.
INCLUDING THIS BLOG.
About Me
My name is Ronda but I've been known through the years as Ronda, Miss Hickey, Mrs. Braithwaite, Rhhhhonda, Sister Braithwaite, Auntie (pronounced as Annie), Aunt Ronda, Gigi, and Pootie. I am a widow of 7 years, a mother to 3 daughters and a Gigi to 4 granddaughters. I worked in the field of social work for 35 years; the majority of that in Child Welfare. My life experiences have also included being a teen mother, joining a high demand religion, losing my mother in my 30's, and caring for and losing my husband to Central Nervous System Brain Lymphoma and the effects of his treatment.
Less that a year after my husband died, I retired and sold my home in Central California and moved to St. George, Utah which is about 4 hours from my other youngest daughter and her family. My middle daughter joined me in the move and she adopted her daughter about a year later. My oldest daughter lives at the Central Coast in California.
I was not good at journaling so I'm hoping this will, at a minimum, serve as some stories of my my life for my family. I feel like I have a lot to share about a wide variety of topics, as do most people at this stage in their life. I plan to write about family, faith, loss, relationships, and work experiences, including politics, colleagues and clients. I'll share about my faith journey over the last few years. I'll write about all the love and loss that has played such a big part of my life. I may overshare and get personal and at times be somewhat inappropriate. I promise that I will not use AI for this blog and if by chance I do, I'll fess up and let you know that I got a little help from a friend. I'll try to make you laugh and hopefully feel some connection with my life experiences.
I've never really excelled at anything in my life (sports, homemaking skills, hobbies, etc.) but I have been complimented at times for my writing. I hope those compliments make their way into my stories as I share how I have tried to build resilience through my trials and a life filled with purpose and hope. I also hope that my experiences can give anyone who feels overwhelmed by life's challenges insight and hope and possibly just some good ole humor. I hope you will join me on this journey. There is a comment box under every post so please feel free to leave me something. There is also a contact page where you can send me something privately.
Oh and Grace in the Grit (the title of the blog)! Why that? Grace and grit represent a life philosophy that balances the ability to persevere through tough times (grit) with the capacity to remain compassionate, poised, and forgiving while doing so (grace),. It's a hefty personal credo to live up to, but it's something I continue to work at and refuse to give up on!
