21. What advice would you give to yourself 3 years ago?

Three years ago...  It's not really that much time, but it seems so far away.  Which is odd when I feel like time is moving by so quickly at the same time.  Maybe all the changes over the past few years have just blurred everything.  In fact, I had to log onto Facebook just to remember exactly what was going on in 2010.  Thanks, Timeline!

So, back then I was still with my husband, still working at DSS, and Jaime was still in elementary school.  That was also the year I ended up with a litter of puppies, which of course also brought my greatest love into my life. Yes, I'm talking about the dog...

I mean come on...  Look at that face.  How can you not fall in love with that face?

So,  I got one excellent change out of 2010.  So, my first piece of advice to myself would have been, "Stick to your guns!  You're doing the right thing by keeping the dog! "

2010 was also interesting because I think at the time, I thought I was happier than I really was.  I was so  busy, so stressed out and caught up in the storms that I couldn't see clearly what was really going on in my life.  I wish I could have told 2010 Alex that the money wasn't worth it and that the stress was eventually going to bring me down so, get out while you still can.  I think it would have saved me a lot of trouble down the line.  I would have told myself that it's time to get the things that cause me stress out of my life and not keep myself so busy all the time.  Keeping busy just keeps you distracted because you're not giving yourself time to stop and think about what's really happening.

I would have told myself that I'm worth more than what I put up with. I would have said to let go.  I would have said that all the things I thought would've happened weren't real and that I'm strong enough to handle things on my own.  I would have told myself to have more faith that things could be different and the security I thought I had wasn't worth what I had to do in order to keep it.  I would have told myself that the real security is in taking matters into your own hands and that people will pick you up when you fall down.  I would have told myself that you're not as alone as you think you are.

And most of all, I would have told myself that no matter what happens, no matter how low you feel, things really do get a little better eventually.  So just suck it up and drive on.