EXPERATION DATE

My debit card expires this month. Typically there isn’t a need for an announcement. Normally we all just live through the irritating process of updating our auto payments. This is not something you announce on Facebook. At least I didn’t… until 2026.

You see, this month marks the anniversary of when I got my own bank account. The month I put myself first. The month I decided I was important enough not only to leave a marriage, but to put faith in my own future. It was a month when the only money I had to deposit was my current paycheck. No padding. No hidden cash. That electronic check deposit from my employer was it.

I was absolutely terrified, but I moved forward. Tiny step by tiny step. I took hold of my financials… the good, the bad, and the incredibly ugly… and I marched.

It was the month my friends showed me they truly love me. It was also the month I realized that I truly love myself.

February 2023 was the month and year I started over, afraid. And in February 2026, I find myself living a life I love. One filled with gratitude, happiness, and eagerness to keep marching.

GRIEF TO GRATITUDE

What’s the opposite of grief?
I’m not sure, but it’s here.
I assume it’s joy instead of despair,
leaping forward instead of static.

Seven years in, and your spirit is still here.
It guides me. It pushes me.
It makes me see things brightly.
It’s beautiful.

You are a part of me. Joy.
Life isn’t the same. Acceptance.
My tears fall differently now,
filling up my ocean of gratitude.
Not sadness. Not sorrow.

What’s the opposite of grief?
Serenity.
Missing you is expressed love.
Loving you is forever.

Written by Rebecca Grace Snider