November, we meet once again. This month and I have a history of rather powerful memories, and each year it is a time that invites reflection.

Taking the time to pause allows me to both remember and appreciate. Things that are gone and things that are new. It’s a time that is both achingly bitter and gently, surprisingly, sweet.

,Once upon a time in November, I ended my marriage. It remains a symbol of freedom and liberation, a reclaiming of myself. In an intensely personal way, this month holds reminders of both brutal and beautiful moments.

Isn’t that so often the paradox of living and life experience? The brutal and the beautiful can exist, not in isolation, but in sometimes surprising ways alongside one another.

Ending my marriage left me in a wildly uncomfortable unknown with no clear map of the future. Not unlike the terrain where I stand now.

It is somehow comforting to know that I did in fact navigate that journey into, through and beyond divorce. While I didn’t realize it at the time, that experience would build strength that continues to show up when I need it most.

My current email is: dianewriter423@gmail.com