Sometimes life lands you in a place you didn't expect or desire. At first, you feel helpless and scared and riddled with grief and sadness. That's the really, really hard part. Then you get to the messy middle. The part where you aren't living face down in grief any longer. Sure, you visit it from time to time, but you have begun to make strides forward. No longer willing to cling to a life that wasn't meant for you. And in the end, you get to the gorgeous part. The one where you've started the transformation. The one where the tears are much fewer and further between. Being in the gorgeous part doesn't mean you don't feel occasional pain or grief. But the stops here are brief stepping stones to a future with more color. A life built on vivid and bold experiences. Perhaps ones you never would have had if still living the life you'd expected. I think I'm on the cusp of the gorgeous part. Starting to take steps out of the messy middle. And experiencing and learning the new ways of th...