Hi Heather, I tried to say this in a post that got lost when the board went down but...the thing that I see more than anything about your recent posts is this: they are about YOU and YOUR life. Less and less about the antics from Smokey, how he is doing this or that. You are fully engaged in YOUR life (and of course your girls!). You are your own person, totally separate from the person that turned your life upside down. I see a strong, independent woman who is handling all that life is throwing at her! Your problems are yours, to handle as YOU see fit. You aren't letting your mother, Smokey, dad, anyone dictate how you feel or what you think is best. These are very attractive qualities and I have a feeling that you will have everything that you ever wanted for yourself, your loved ones, the people who you care about and lives you touch. You are on a major roll and you got there through hard work (all the resumes, all the job searches, interviews, all the putting yourself out there willing to stretch who you "thought" you were and find qualities and abilities you never knew you had but were there all along).
You aren't the same person you were when Smokey turned your life upside down. In point of fact you are better, stronger, more resilient. You took the pain and the fear and used it to become a better version of yourself. In the end this is the choice everyone here on this board has. We can let our sitchs tear us down or do what you have done (and are still doing) and use them to temper us, teach us what really matters to US.
Again, Happy Birthday! I think this one is special as I see really good things for you in the coming year. Not "easy" things, for sure, but you can handle them all. You are an inspiration to all of us trying so hard to do just what you are in our own ways!
