We live in a society where being proud of oneself comes off as being conceited or cocky. Why is that? Shouldn’t we be proud when hard work, perseverance, and faith come together to achieve something? I believe so. So much of our time is spent working through challenges and combating the negative feelings that surround failures or disappointments, that we often fail to recognize the proud moments. I tell you what, I’ve spent so many years stifling my pride for myself, but very much showing pride for everyone else around me. It’s not hard to be happy for others. Much like giving gifts to others brings me joy, so does being happy for them. It’s a weird thing to live alone. I don’t mind being alone….that’s not it. But, there are times when I just really want to be able to come home and tell someone about something that happened in my day or to share what might seem to be a simple accomplishment. I used to have a family to do that with. First, divorce happened, so no spouse to share things with. Honestly, I stopped sharing anything with my spouse years before divorce, because whatever I said was either not smart enough, not special enough, or generally not cared about. As with all of us who have children, they grow up and move out, so they aren’t there to receive that information anymore either. And let’s be honest, they never really wanted to hear that information from their parents anyway. That left me with my dogs. Yep, I was that girl. My pups listened so well! But, most of you know, they both passed away, so it’s been over a year of just me at home. I’m pretty sure there are days when I just talk out loud in my home, knowing full well that no one is listening. Yes, sometimes I do pray out loud, so I know the Good Lord is listening. I actually know that He hears my thoughts even when they aren’t spoken aloud. But, there are still times when something happens in the moment and all I want is to share it. Maybe that’s why I write. Take this past week. It was Spring Break, so much needed time away from my day job. While my hope was to get away for most of the week, I was able to enjoy a couple of days away during the first weekend of break, in a closeby town. It was heaven for a couple of days. Back to the grind on Monday though…..so I chose to do my taxes. This may not seem like a big thing to most people. After all, we all have to do taxes. However, I have never done my own taxes……like, never. Remember that I was married at 21. Prior to marriage, I was a dependent, so my father filed. Once married, I had a finance guy for a spouse, so he handled all things money-related. BIG MISTAKE. For the next 24 years, I didn’t touch a tax form…..well, except to fill out a W-4. Post-divorce, my father had a friend who did my taxes for me. All I had to do was provide all of my documents and sit back and watch the magic happen. This year was different. The friend was no longer doing taxes, so I was now on my own. It took me far longer than it probably should have, but thank goodness for TurboTax. It really wasn’t as complicated as I thought, but rather time-consuming. When I finished, I was so darn proud of myself. I am expecting a nice refund, which is great. Now, I know what some of you are thinking……you shouldn’t have so much withheld from your paycheck. I am absolutely risk-averse when it comes to money. In fact, having lived literally paycheck to paycheck for 24 years, and having almost nothing in savings, I have become even more risk-averse now that I am in charge of all the financial decisions in my life. I know, people hear me say that and think I exaggerate. They know the career of my former spouse and think no way. Yet, here I am. We were absolutely terrible with money, and I didn’t have a clue because I wasn’t the financial one in our household. Tack on divorce, and the financial outlook is not great. I could freak out, and trust me, there are days that I do. Alimony is deserved, but it comes at a cost. I don’t get to be married, because then I lose the “right” to alimony. That’s a topic for another discussion……it’s ridiculous if you ask me. But, I also sacrificed a career for 24 years and raised my children so that my former spouse could advance his career, with so many infidelities, moves, and skeletons swept under the rug. I digress. Let’s just say that I’ve learned to save, and work extremely hard to build a future for myself. Back to taxes…..I did it, and I’m proud. That same day, I received my grades for another class I finished in grad school. There’s a stigma sometimes with stay-at-home moms. Sometimes, those of us who stay home believe that others look at us as unintelligent. Add a spouse who makes you feel like you couldn’t possibly understand a thing about finances, taxes, grad school, politics, or you name it, and there are years that go by where you aren’t sure you’ve got what it takes to be “successful” in life. Again, another topic, because of course raising kids is a success in itself! Going back to school at 48 years old is a necessity to position myself to be able to have a retirement at some point. I’ve met with financial advisors. I’ve become quite educated about financial planning, and finances in general. I’ve had no choice. As I mentioned, alimony is temporary. 26 years of your life is worth 10 in the eyes of the court when you have an ex-spouse who would prefer you get zero. So, the only option is to take care of yourself. Hence, grad school. So, here I am, almost a year in, and again, I can’t help but take a moment to be so proud of myself. I have never been a straight-A student. I’ve always had to bust my ass to get respectable grades. Like so many others, I work full-time at my day job and am also a full-time student. Yes, I cry and get angry. But, I also celebrate and feel accomplished. The culmination of the last class was two 20-page papers, a 20-minute PowerPoint video presentation, and three quizzes on approximately 250 pages of text, all within a week and a half. Here’s my bragging moment. This was the hardest class I’ve taken to date. It challenged every part of my organizational skills, time management, memory, and acumen. I earned a 100% on every single one of those assignments. For that, I’m incredibly proud. I hold myself to the highest of standards, so this one transcript that shows a 4.0 to date makes me believe in myself in a way I didn’t before. As I mentioned, I had a spouse who often treated me like my brain wasn’t up to par and not good enough for anyone. While I knew better, I actually started to believe the false narrative. So, here I am now, proving to no one but myself that the narrative fed to me for so many years isn’t the truth. I am strong, intelligent, and ready to tackle the next class. I pray daily to have the love of my life to share these moments with going forward……God willing! It is so very easy to focus on the challenges in life. Thank you for indulging in my bragging moment. We should all take the time to be proud of ourselves.