Dedicated to my friends--you've been the most amazing group of people. I love you all dearly. Thank you for all you've done.

I've always thought that in order to be part of a good, healthy couple, one must be a good healthy person first. How do you expect to be the pillar of strength for another person and carry him/her through times of extreme difficulties if you are already wobbling and stumbling yourself? When you've gotten too tired and weak from your own life, the weight of another person, however much (a bit too much in my case DOH), can crush you to the ground in the blink of an eye.

So one of the biggest lessons learned for me this time, is that nobody is responsible for you but yourself. Of course, another lesson I've learned is how to carry the other through in times of hardship, but the pre-req to that is that you've taken good care of yourself. Only then can you have enough faith and strength to hold on when and if the other has lost it all. Only then do you stand a chance of surviving the storm.

And so I'm doing that. With the help of family and friends, music, sunny weather, books, yoga, cooking and this blog (ok tv too), I'm getting back on my feet. I'm seeking happiness from the most basic of things and I feel content and grounded, more at peace with myself than I have in the last six years. As Jenn said this is a transition, but maybe it is more of a transformation. A real turning point in life that helps me find my way. And for this reason I'm thankful for the changes that have taken place despite the hurt. It's important at the end of the day that we all learn and evolve into that better stronger person.

Now only if he feels the same...