My name is Jennifer Bergey and I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan with my wonderfully geeky husband Daniel:
after too many Christmas cookies
We met online. You know, you can get pretty much anything on the Internet. :) We actually met through blogging. There was a bit of nuclear weasels, Italian food, piano playing, and traipsing through airports involved as well.
We are happy reading piles of books, gaming late into the night, exploring museums, baking delicious food, and playing music together. And hamming it up for the camera.
We have a four-year-old, Drew:
He is sneaky, hysterical, and delightful. As Brian Andreas says, “there are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter & noise.”
I have been a stay-at-home mom since Drew was born and I have no clue what I’m going to do when he starts school. Underwater basket weaving? Back to the boring corporate world? Explore the city with my camera in hand? Share more of my Important Feelings and Opinions on the Internet?
I was born and raised in The Valley, a lovely bit of family land in South Carolina:
My memories of growing up in The Valley are precious to me. Bless your heart, let’s just run up to Granny’s house for fried okra, biscuits, and tea. See? You just can’t get enough. My cousins and I rambled all over the land and I still delight in reminiscing over it all.
I was raised Independent Fundamentalist Baptist. Camp meetings in sawdust, revivals, and fire-breathing sermons. I attended BJU from 1999 – 2003 where I graduated with a degree in Marketing, Psychology, and Rush Limbaugh. It was during college that I started blogging. I found an ad for Blogspot in the newspaper and the rest is history.
After realizing that I didn’t want anything to do with Marketing, I entered the world of Bank Operations. I traveled from branch to branch for one company. Daniel wooed me from afar. Then I left one bank to help start another. I found myself in an intense Corporate World where I enjoyed the hard work but hated the burnout I was experiencing.
I married Daniel in January, 2006. Life as newlyweds was busy and fulfilling but I felt like I needed a new chapter. I quit my job to write a children’s book but found out that Daniel and I were having a baby a few weeks later. The book never happened but the new chapter certainly did.
After Drew was born in April of 2007, I experienced severe postpartum depression and became suicidal. That is when my journey in faith began taking a different path. My church, school, and faith had no answers. I’d been told for years that depression was sin and that I simply needed to yield more to God. I reached out for help and one of my favorite professors during my most formative years callously told me that my depression was my own fault and that nouthetic counseling would heal me. Only after Daniel convinced me to see a medical doctor, did I finally get help.
Obviously, my love and respect for BJU started going downhill from here. It didn’t help when abuse coverups came to light and people I knew personally became targets of the University. A brick came loose in the foundation of all that we held dear. This website chronicles the journey of my faith from my carefree college days to when I started having doubts. There is a lot of religious talk in the archives. Be prepared. It’s all part of my story.
In 2008, we left South Carolina and moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania so Daniel would no longer have to telecommute for work. We met a lovely group of people who befriended us even as we struggled with quite a bit of upheavel in our hearts. Drew toddled around, Daniel enjoyed working in an office again, and I looked out the picture window in the living room and cried for a year.
In 2009, we moved to Michigan after the company Daniel worked for was acquired. We’re now far away from both sides of the family (sniffle) and are very grateful for blogging, Facebook, Skype, and Flickr. Although we miss a lot about South Carolina and Pennsylvania, Michigan finally feels like home.
Our hearts seem to be settled now and the dark cloud of depression only darkens my door when I run out of sweet tea.
Even though I’ve been writing online since 2000, I’ve lost some entries through the years. Occasionally I’ll go through something emotional and a Delete Website and Destroy All Evidence moment occurs. I’m trying to be better about that.
Authenticity is one of the most important things to me so you will not only find cringe-worthy moments in my archives but you’ll also see the story of a woman learning to accept that it’s okay to think differently from the people you love.
We all have stories. We become better together when we share them.
Likes: Rainy days, apple lotion, fried okra, fake mustaches, origami cranes, all things science related, gaming, and post-impressionist art.
Dislikes: Tornadoes, vanilla anything, tapioca pudding, real mustaches, sewing, all things math related, e-cards, and Thomas Kinkade.
You can also see my mighty life list, my taste in music, see my collection of fabulous things, and spy on our Amazon wish-lists.
If you want to ask me a question, just visit Frank. You can even ask anonymously.
