Herein are my stories ... of how I got to where I am today and the stories of the messes I have made, the messes I have cleaned up, left behind, are afraid to look and stories of survival. I found myself lost when my youngest child left the nest for college and to my dismay found myself unemployable having been out of the workforce for fifteen years having made the apparently politically, socially incorrect choice in staying home as a full-time mom. I have survived menopausal hell and found myself left day in and day out to my own devices to fill my free time. The adage "idle hands are the devil's workplace" is absolutely apropos. Come run the gauntlet with me.