I would like to take a moment to explain why I feel extremely grateful. 

Last year was a big year for me. In fact the last 4 years have created such growth in me that I no longer recognize who I was back then. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for a lot of things actually. Let me explain:

4 years ago my daughter died and the year that followed was the worst year of my life. 
3 years ago I realized that strength is within us all 
2 years ago my son was born.  His unquestionable lack of  need to sleep at night, his dairy intolerance and his presence in my life caused some significant snowballs.
9 months ago my marriage ended to a man whom I thought I knew but realized I didn’t.

It’s been very hard work. 

…and I’m grateful for each and every one of those events.  In fact I’m so very grateful that it’s hard to put into words. I know how that sounds.

But you see each one of those events has helped me break free from the negative patterns that I was repeating over and over. Patterns that were so seductive and yet so destructive at the same time. 

We all have these patterns, the parts of our personalities that we think we are not able to change, but life has given me some enormous opportunities for growth and reflection. The choice was to either be swallowed by grief or create positive change.