I forgot to add the... -Mark Twain...to the quote above. I've always been a fan since Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn captivated me as a child. Google quotes by Mr. Twain. The man had some seriously wise and thought provoking words.

Where I'm at now..... even though I failed at establishing that exercise habit (not really failed since I'm still trying) because of the interruptions of life...namely, a hay crop coming in and prep for a soon to be published coloring book......, I feel like I am beginning to "get my life back." Honestly, the last few years have been rough on me both emotionally and physically...and we know that both go hand in hand. I've had a lot of loss, I've had a lot of emotional turmoil and I've had some illness. I really feel like I lost me along the way. Another bite off the honesty apple, I've been losing me over the last ten years of so. I saw a TV program once where they were interviewing a diverse group of women who were all 75+ years old. They were all asked, "What has been the most difficult and painful time in your life." They all agreed on the answer, the time from mid-forties to sixty. Why? Because, "change is always hard and painful." So, I guess I haven't really been losing me, I've been finding me. I think of this age, the menopausal stages, as being like a caterpillar's transformation to a butterfly. I've often wondered, do caterpillars feel? Do they think about the sacrifices of going into that cocoon? Is the transformation painful? The butterfly should be the symbol of this new age of ours because we've gone through that painful process of transformation and we've emerged, more beautiful and with wings that let us escape the earth and soar. All we have to do is let go and fly.