Four years ago today....

I boarded a plane,

and had the courage to find a new life.

Suz Broughton from Alive in Wonderland had sent me the picture

I have framed above.

She'd had it on her blog,

with the words,

"Hope is a Road,

Hope is a choice,

Hope is a small town in Arizona."

That picture is what convinced me to make the leap

and be brave enough to make the move.

When Suz heard about this,

she asked if she could send me a copy of the picture.

I immediately framed it,

and it was one of the few belongings that made the initial

trip with me to Phoenix that June first in my suitcase.

It remains one of my most treasures possessions.

Life has certainly not been perfect since the move,

but the hope of a new life is still bright before my eyes.

I'm grateful for my new life.

I know that I will never go back to the kind of life

I knew before moving here.

And I will always know that not only is hope a choice,

But hope is a small town in Arizona.