10 years ago I was what I perceived to be happily married, though I'd learn later that I was simply blind or ignorant of the warning signs that things were about to implode on my tender life. I had a wonderful 18 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback named Tuvok who was such a delight, I lost him a month ago, a hurt that still makes my heart ache to this very moment. We were fortunate enough to live 2 doors away from his litter brother Nytro and the boys played at regular intervals alternating yards.
Those who are over 30 know it's a huge understatement to say that you change a lot between 20 to 30 years old. I got married just before I turned 23 and was divorced soon after I turned 26. Looking back at those ages and the experiences I went through almost takes my breath away. At the time I felt like I was an adult and that I could handle the pressures of adulthood, today, I realize what a child I still was. My sister is 27 and I just can't imagine her having gone through all of that already in her life, it simply boggles my mind.
I will never regret the experiences of my tender youth, because I wouldn't be who I am today without having gone through such a tremendous amount of pain during that time. I know there are still hard times to come and there have been some since, but I go through them differently now because I've already been to Hell and back and I know I can survive it.
But despite the devastation of my 20's I realized many years ago that they are experiences and that they in no way define who I am. Time and again I hear women introduce themselves by their experiences; "I'm a divorced mother of 3", "I'm a single business woman", "I'm a college student", etc. Well, I'm Andrea Williams. What you see is what you get. I'm kind, generous, intelligent, capable and if you wrong the ones I love you will meet a creature of such fierce vengeance you will wish you'd never crossed my path.
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