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sometimes you have to step back and let go. peel back the layers until only what’s true remains. let go of attachments that bring more hurt than happiness. make painful steps and have faith that it will all work out. sometimes you have to give in; be fragile and human and emotional. then you pick yourself up, talk to the people you trust most in the world, get it off your chest, get ready to move forward. you have to give yourself permission to enter the unknown. you have to give yourself permission to make mistakes. you have to summon all your confidence and stand up tall, even when your stomach is in knots and your head aches. you have to trust. believe. you have to look at the big picture and know what’s important.

this is what remains: my children. my husband. my family. my friends. my voice. my pictures. my self.
i hold all these things in my heart and walk forward, even as i’m mourning the loss of the past.

xoxo

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