Nine Years

So I'm pretty sure this is the first time in the past 9 years that I actually forgot what tomorrow is... my Facebook memories pop-up reminded me! And yeah, a couple tears leaked out my eyes.
Nine years ago tomorrow morning, I was walking out of the finest gated community Utah and Draper has to offer! HA! That was truly a lifetime ago! 
I'd like to say I've never looked back, but that couldn't be further from the truth! The time spent there, the people I met, the things I learned... formed the person I am today! I look back at some of those experiences all the time!
So much has changed over the nine years. I literally walked out of that place with the clothes on my back. I had one friend who was there for me so I had a place to go and a place to start over. That one friend helped me get some clothes and supported me until I had a job. I was so scared of reentering the real world! Starting over.
But I had just been thru one of the most difficult experiences a person can live- and I made it! Being back in civilization would be a piece of cake! And I maintained that attitude, and I succeeded because of that attitude!
There is a big difference between living in the past or dwelling on the past, and revisiting or looking back. I have never been a quitter or a dweller. I had things to prove to a number of people! I had goals, and nothing was going to stop me from getting there. Bumps in my path, even detours that led me down paths I didn't know I would take... but ultimately- success.
Not huge financial success. There are other types of success. I got a job, and within a year had worked myself into 2 promotions, another year a much bigger promotion. I reconnected with friends who mattered and cared. I got my oldest daughter not only back in my life, but back in my home on a full time basis! I found the man I was meant to be with, and married him. I have happiness and health, I have my family. I have my faith in myself... 
I learned nine years ago to never have regrets. Everything happens for a reason, all these things that happen to us- they aren't happening to us! They are happening for us. So that we can be led down the path we are meant to be on.
Nine years ago tonight, I spent saying goodbye to some of the most interesting and wonderful women I have ever had the honor of knowing... 12 hours later I would never see 95% of them again.
I'll never forget that morning... some things should never be forgotten. They need to live in our memories as reminders.