The result of these and a few other random acts of blindness added a few more layers. Stress is so erosive and it took its toll on my bones, spine, joints, disposition, and outlook. I packed on the pounds and was quite a brilliantly functional depressive. I cried a lot, but nearly worked myself to death to support my family.
The result is the today me: 56, overweight, advanced degenerative disc disease, using a walker and sliding into wheelchair territory. But happy. Really happy now inside and deteriorating outside. I finally know who and what I am. I am a child of God, a divine daughter of royal birth and nothing . . . NOTHING that happens in this life will ever change that.
Now back to Dustin Hoffman and his brilliantly pithy disclosure. This man taught me today that there are men who get women. There are men who understand that we are more than the sum total of our parts. That men, and women, often rob themselves of treasures because the chest is too worn or unattractive. I am humbled by his disclosure. I am grateful for his strength to share his story with the world, just as I share mine with you. I am lovable. I am good. I am a princess. I deserve better than what I allow myself to settle for.