I Survived
And so did you
Fall is here. In my autumn musings, I have noticed a subtle change in my being. Autumn used to be a time of stress for me as I braced for the holiday madness and prayed to survive another northern winter.
This is the first fall I am retired. And perhaps that makes all the difference. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I had survived All. The. Things. that I never thought I would/could.
I survived being a motherless child of a negligent father.
I survived high school and college and my career with all the in-groups and out-groups that made me feel less-than.
I survived my marriage and my divorce.
I survived raising two daughters in a world unkind to women. They are strong, independent, and fierce.
I survived all the broken relationships along the way. Friends, lovers, relatives whose expectations I would never fulfill.
I survived a career fraught with landmines. Last November when I retired with my nurse’s license intact, I counted it a bloody miracle.
I survived financial crises. All of them. Every single one. Money was always tight and savings was non-existent for more years than I can count.
