A Beautiful Day

What a week! In the span of one week I find out why I got dumped, what my friend of 20 yrs really thinks of me, that the one I would actually give my life for is going back to Iraq, my condo association is going to put a $1,000 per apartment assessment to fix the roof that keeps dripping in my apartment, I then get a 10% pay cut at work after about 10 people were layed-off and finally one of my dearest friends gets dumped by his Fiancee after he risks everything to move to Miami with her. And let's not even get into what is going on in the world around us. WTF?!

Even with all that I can actually sit her at my desk and look out the window and appreciate what a beautiful day it is. It wasn't too long ago that my world was completely upside down. From the summer of 2003 to 2004. I'd gone from being married, financially secure, near having kids, a huge house in Royal Oaks and everything I ever wanted, to having absolutely nothing. No home, no job, no relationship, no hope. Slowly but surely with some help from my family and the support of my closest friends (J, B, M), I started to get back on my feet. And now 4 years later, I have a good job, my own apartment and a real appreciation of my life.

The old saying rings true. Whatever doesn't kill you, can only make you stronger. And I am much stronger today than I was 4 or 5 years ago. I've learned that I can make it on my own, that I don't need to be taken care of, who I can count on, the value of my freedom and more importantly who I am.

It's not to say that I don't still want the white picket fence dream. I do. But I'm OK if it doesn't happen too. Because in spite of the fact that it was a fucking bitch of a week, I can still look outside and see what a beautiful day it is.