From three years as a union laborer in California to twenty- five years as a union crane operator in Wisconsin, I'm still here. From surfing along the coastline of California to downhill skiing in the heart of the Midwest, I'm still here. From the invitation to join a boyfriend in a faraway state to becoming entwined in a violent nightmare of a marriage, I barely made it, but I'm still here. To finding peace in my life at long last in the quiet of the country and with the right person, the love of my life, yes, I'm still here.

It's not what happens to you in life, it's how you choose to deal with it.