Deb Smith:  

Forty years, really hard to believe. If someone had recently asked me how long ago I graduated from high school the quick answer would have been '€˜about 25 years ago'€™. It feels like '€˜awhile'€™, but not forty years. However just this year I've been thinking about how I can work out an early retirement, and do something else, that I can be more autonomous with, that I don'€™t really have to make money with, and maybe be a big help to others somehow. Not figured it out yet, and can'€™t do anything for a couple of years yet anyway. But it's there, in my subconscious, cooking away. I felt really misunderstood in high school, and well understood in college, so much so that I've been back 3 times! Probably not going back for any more formal education, but I did do one of the '€˜mini university'€™ classes and just loved it. I love to travel and love to explore, and I hope my future holds a lot of those types of adventures as well. My lifelong soul mate died 5 years ago, and I myself almost didn't survive it. He was a great person and had limitations just like me however his strengths were different than mine and together we made a great pair. I have periods of time from back then that I don'€™t even recall now. I think I must have just been in a funk of such a depth that parts of my brain just shut down. I kept journals though, writing helped me get through it, and I'€™m going to write a book about my grief experience eventually. Aaaaand I know I'€™ll have to self-publish the thing but these days anyone can do something like that online. I have 2 grandchildren now. My son has a son and my daughter has a daughter! I ...Expand for more