As today is Independence Day, I figured a little play on words only made sense (slight cheese-o-meter, I realize!). I was sitting outside, FINALLY getting some sun since the weather in New England has been less than pleasant the last oh, month or so, and thinking back to last year’s Fourth of July as I was trying to compare myself then to now. Honestly, I can’t remember what we even did last year, we may have just had a low key cookout and didn’t do much. And this year? Having a fabulous time – cookout last night, another today, and possibly, another tomorrow. All fun, all involving wine – my idea of a good time ;-)

I am feeling more independent, in more ways than one, and am genuinely feeling very happy. It’s a good feeling, I must say! A song I stumbled across sort of sums up my happy feeling – by Melissa Etheridge – I Run for Life. An excerpt:

Every day that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast,
If you ask her why she is still running,
She’ll tell you it makes her complete

I run for hope, I run to feel
I run for the truth for all that is real
I run for your mother, your sister, your wife
I run for you and me my friend
I run for life

The pain does feel miles behind me, yet it’s still a part of me, but not in a negative way, but in a way that drives me forward. I’m thankful that this journey has really taken a positive spin and being independence is a WAY for me – a way for me to move forward, keep being strong and learning about myself. Cheers!