Who I am...

I'm almost 30 years old. I've always been ready for 30. Even as a teenager, I thought to myself "30 is going to be great!" My life would be set, complete and I would be on the right course. My career would be in full swing, my family life would be on track and I would have found my soulmate. Well, things don't always turn out quite as you planned.

Now I won't officially be 30 for about seven more months. Let's get that straight right now. Still in my twenties. Ah, the Twenties. A decade of screwing things up and, hopefully, learning from them. I started off right. At the age of 19, I met a man who was great. He promised to love me eternally and take care of me for the rest of my life. We were engaged in a few shorts months and at the tender age of 20, I was a married woman. Not nine months later, we welcomed our first daughter into our lives.

My 21st birthday was spent breastfeeding a 3-month old. While all other people spent that long awaited age drinking it up, I was tending to my newborn. I didn't mind because the man I loved was by my side. Two years later, a daughter followed and a little more than a year later, a son. I felt so lucky and loved my children more than life itself.

Things started to take a noisedive around 24. I left a job that I dearly loved to take care of our three children and was promised that everything would be alright. For two years, with only one income, our finances were dwindling. What was happening, I couldn't understand. Money was missing and my beloved had all the right answers. I was told again, "I will take care of you and things will be okay." I went back to work.

At the age of 28, I was a homeowner for the first time. I was so excited!! It was by no means my dream house, but I realized that you have to start somewhere. I began to busy myself by working on making our house a home. I wanted my family to be comfortable and safe in our home and feel love everytime they passed through the front door. I wanted my friends to feel warmth and caring with every visit. Then, the letter came. We were losing our home. Again, I was told, "I will take care of you and things will be okay." Our house was sold at auction and we had to leave.

Then, shortly after reaching the age of 29, I wised up. I picked myself up off the floor, took my children and left that man who lied to me for 10 long years. It was the best decision I ever made in my Twenties. It wasn't easy but after being alone in every way that you could possibly imagine, I knew that I needed and deserved a life far better than the one I was living. Now, I am working on getting my life in order. Living my life in the Thirties will be better. It's got to be!