Marble 4

So here is my marble for this week...

This is a little suitcase that I have on my dresser. Until yesterday, it was filled with keepsakes from my time with him.  Gifts he gave me, ticket stubs, plastic flowers, sea shells, brochures from places we went together...

This last week, I have been busy. I went to New York all by myself. I went sightseeing, did some business, ran a 5k, saw a show, and made new friends. I did it myself. When I got home, I was busy with 3 different rehearsals, looking for a job, and catching up on housework. On Thursday I decided to drive 2 hours to the next state to a dinner theatre where a friend works and see CATS. I went alone. I figured out how to get there by myself. I drove alone. I ate a delicious meal. I talked to folks and made some friends. I stayed after and talked to the cast and visited and joked for quite a while... Then I drove home alone. The week before that, I took the kids camping all on my own...

Just because I am alone, that doesn't mean that I can't still do stuff. In fact, I can do more, if I want to, because it's easier to plan with only one person, and there were a lot of things that he didn't want to do. Like going to New York...  I had a great time. I was busy. I wasn't despondent. I wasn't sad. I could definitely see a day where I would do all of these things, and not be thinking about the fact that he wasn't there. I realized that I was looking forward to making my own memories. I don't need someone else to help me fill up a box with keepsakes. I have already made great memories for myself. By myself.

So I emptied out the box of keepsakes. I put everything from him into a box and put it under my bed...

But now the little suitcase on my dresser is for MY memories. For this next 11 months of adventures and learning. This is a picture of my marble along with just a few of the keepsakes that I have already accumulated in my first month.

This is going to be OK.