It’s been 15 years since I moved to this area the first time. I drove over the same bypass bridge that I remember driving over back then…afraid of how high it was, sobbing and singing along to Dido.
I wasn’t sure I was going to survive that year. My brother had died unexpectedly…then a high school student of mine. My boyfriend of 2 years left me for someone else. I moved here, had a major falling out with the friend I helped get a job here, found myself all alone in a city much larger than anything I’d ever experienced, and learned the growing pains of who to trust. I ended up with pneumonia that I didn’t really bother taking care of for a long while. At one point, I found myself swimming in an icy river not entirely sure how I’d ended up there or why I’d taken all my clothes off.
I was a complete mess and my heart was shattered.
I’m looking back on that time today and thinking of how hard that was and how I thought I was going to break. I thought it would never get better.
I’m still here. It did get better. There have been other times that have been so hard but each time, I get a little stronger…a little smarter. The waves may rock the boat but it hasn’t completely been lost.
Mad Tea Party Confessional 