Yes, it has. Thirteen years have passed since the day my wife died. In that time, I've been through a lot. Most of it was good, while some of it was almost unbearable. I've hit rock bottom a few times, either emotionally, financially, or physically. I'm grateful that I never had all three of those things go bad all at the same time.
I've lived in places I loved like San Francisco and Myrtle Beach and I've lived in places I would only go to again for vacation, like New York and Las Vegas. I've had nice apartments, and I've had ones that were in really bad condition. I've had ones that had more available space than I could use, and I've been crammed into spaces as small as seven feet by nine feet.
I've made and lost friends. I've fallen in love only to have those relationships end. I went back to college and got a second degree. And now, of course, I'm working, and am self sufficient for the first time in thirteen years. That's something I feel very good about.
My weight has dropped from 300 pounds to 175, and believe me, that was not easy to accomplish.
Sometimes, people ask me how I've managed to survive, indeed, not just survive, but become a much better person with much better circumstances. Well, let me tell you, it's not easy. For me, at least, the most important thing I did was to get rid of every single thing that wasn't essential. To, as I often phrase it, "start with the basics and add things in, one at a time, slowly and carefully".
The things I've done weren't easy. If they were, a lot more people would be doing them. I can honestly say that I wouldn't change anything I've done, or been through.
And in the end, isn't that the best thing a person can say about his or her life?
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