I will be 57 on the 13th.  I am definately a baby-boomer!  I have two grown children, a boy and girl.  He is finishing college soon, but was delayed in order to take care of me.  I have fibromyalgia, chronic myelogenous lukemia, Sjogren's syndrome, Raynauds, chronic fatigue, as well as chornic asthma, which I have had all my life. 

I worked in the legal profession for over thirty years.  Loved the work, but was forced to retire ten years ago, when I got too sick to work anymore. 

I have survived breast cancer twice (hormonal types).  I am a fighter.  I sort of have to be :).

I am also a grandma.  One grandchild who never fails to put a smile on my face with just a hello!  I love dogs!  I have never not had a dog in my home.

I was also a realtor, while working as a paralegal,..yeah, I know, I was one of 'those',...go, go, go!  I ran my kids to all kinds of things, dance, soccer, baseball, etc.  I never stopped!

It is hard to be me now, though, but I am coping :).

How did you get to where you are now?

I got old, and sick,..not a lie! hehe.  I am still me though.  I just cannot do what I was used to doing.  My life is very, very different.  I do not drive any longer, and cannot work.  I can't do anything I used to do, including cook, clean, wash clothes.  Sometimes, I feel like a stranger in my own body, but I am not a quitter! 

How do you see yourself differently now than you did 10 years ago?

I am more spiritual.  I always believed in God, but it took these horrendous illnesses, to allow me to actually 'talk' to my Lord.  That, alone, changed my life.

I am capable of surviving almost anything now.  I have been married 34 years, and I wish I could say it was good, but not so.  I realize that I can live without a man in my life.  That is another big change!

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I hope, and pray, that I will regain my health, even a little bit.  I just hope I am still here!

And, after the chemo, earlier this year, I discovered that I am gray!  Hmmm, and I thought that I was blonde,..hehe..

I am not going to color it.  I thought about it for a long time, but it is my 'freak' flag, and I am letting is show!  I earned every single one of those gray hairs, believe me, and I am proud of them!!!!

My Mother, and her Mother, my Grandmother (Nana).

They raised me, loved me, took care of a poor little sick girl, (asthma with pneumonia frequently while growing up).  My Mom worked, and Nana stayed with us.  She kept the house, cooked, cleaned, etc.  She never complained about taking care of us all, even that monster of a house!

My Nana never complained about taking care of me either.  I was sick a lot growing up.  She never treated me with anything but love.

My Mom worked to buy us things we did not have.  Dad worked in a steelmill as a welder, and was layed off a lot.  Mom never complained, not even when a drunk driver hit her while she was getting into her car, outside of work. 

She almost lost her leg, but she worked from home, typing away, and went to therapy, and loved me unconditionally. 

They taught me that you can live through anything, no matter how awful, as long as you are loved, and believe in God. 

God.  God changed me too, and is my role model now.  Jesus to be more precise.  When I think about how awful I feel, from being so sick, I remember what He had to go through.  They stoned Him, and murdered Him, but He had a goal, and He did it!

We all have trials and tribulations that seem like they will crush us, but they will not.  Just talk to God,..I do, and I know for a fact, that He hears me, and answers me,..yes,...answers me!  Try it,..you will be amazed!!!

My son.  Works without complaining.  Washes my cloths, cooks, runs errands, takes me to my frequent doctors appointments, and waits in the waiting room for me without complaining.  He is 28 and still in college, but that is because he was delayed to take care of me. 

Now he is running out of funds.  He is going to have to apply for private loans, which today, are difficult to get, but he only has a year to go to finish with his B.A.  He deserves to have it!  He is smart (I know I am his Mom, but he really is), and kind, compassionate, loyal, loving, and sincere.  He has a goal too, and he will succeed, I know it!