I was diagnosed about a year after I had a hystectomy in 1999.  I just never recovered completely from the surgery, never regained my energy, began to experience the "fibro fog", ( a phenomon that only those with the condition would understand).  I started researching this condition.  I was happy to know that it wasn't going to cause my demise, but not so thrilled to find out that they didn't know why or how to treat it .  Great, of all the things I could have in my middle years, I get the mystery disease.

   My work history from that point is just too long to list, but I will say that when I finally had to stop working, I had what was probably the easiest job you could imagine, just answering the phone, some filing, playing games on the internet, watching movies on the DVD player.  No cable, that was the only downer.  But, the company was growing and my job was going to become more involved.  Niether of us thought that I could keep up.  I had forgotton to pay the taxes one week..  I just did it at the bank.  I forgot, and that was serious.  So we parted friends on July 2, 2006, and I became unemployed with no prospects for the first time since I was 15 years old.  I was scared.  I am fortunate enough that my husband is able to support us alone, it's difficult sometimes, but he rarely shows it.

   Now, for the reason of this article.  I bet you though I was just going to ramble on and on about how I felt like I was going to have to go on disability, and just disappear into the system.  You probably expect me to tell you how depressed I would get because I couldn't help my husband support us.

   Nope.  That;s not it at all.  I want to tell you a story.  A story about how I became a pirate.  A real pirate "Captain" with a crew of 18.  I'm not trying to recruit here, just to put that out there.  No, my point is that yes, I have pain, yes, I'm exhausted, yes, I'm having a blast, and if I really can't make it, my crew performs quite well without me. 

   It was Mother's Day, 2004, my family wanted to know what I wanted to on "my day".  They should've never said that.  Those words changed the course of our lives forever.

   I had recently seen Pirates of the Caribbean, and the rebelliousness in me was aroused.  I would love to have that freedom, I like to dress like that, I already am a sailor, I want to dress like pirates and go to the Baltimore Inner Harbor to take a 2 hour cruise on the Clipper City.  She was beautiful.  158 feet, 40 ft beam, twin masted replica of the original clipper ships that incidently were built in Fells Point, Md., a local tourist attraction area, and pirates used to sail them.  I managed to "persaude my then "boyfriend", now my husband, a good friend, who was my boyfriend before I met my husband, that I gave him the "dear john"  when I met my husband, another long story (they're now good friends), and his then girlfriend, who was my ex-huband's sister, and now his ex.  Are you confused?  So am I.  I'm not even going to proofread that paragraph.

   A few days before the fateful day, Candy, the friend's ex who was my ex husband's sister, and I went to the thrift store.  I already some clothes from the Renassaince Festival, but not pirate clothes at all, at least I had a bodice.  I remember my husband was wearing these horrible shiny green jogging pants, a frend made him a shirt, and sandals.  I had taken an old shirt and had sewed some lace on the wrists and down the front.  It was horrible, beyond horrible.  But, it was only meant to be a joke.  Just that day.  Well, Jim took his guitar, our plan was just to sit in the corner, enjoy a little music, hope the other passengers didn't mind and maybe would even enjoy it.  Boy, did they enjoy it!  I had no idea!  The bartender, Jim, said, "You guys are great, what are you doing?"  So we just explained it was just a joke for the special day when they were obligated to follow my every whim, no questions asked.  He gave us the information to contact the owner.  Immediately, my brain went into gear.  Here's the part where I find out that I'm good at marketing and selling.  I called, and we set up a meeting.  Now, remember, we only have Jim, who plays the guitar, Tim, my husband, myself, and we had recruited my son.  I dressed in total business attire.  I don't remember where I had the clothes hidden, I'm a jeans, or pj's girl.  The clothes empowered me somehow.  It was weird, because I almost felt like I was in a manic high, I'm bi-polar too, like I was outside of my body, watching myself, wondering where I'm getting all this.