Here I lay awake at four a.m. on a Saturday morning. In just a couple of hours the familiar sound of the alarm on my Blackberry will chime signaling the start of my day. Only I will already be awake as I have been since around two thirty a.m.

Why has Mr.Sandman neglected me tonight? Experts say one of the leading causes of insomnia is stress. Do I have stress in my life currently? You bet your sweet bottom I do.

Any day now one of the residents at the assisted living facility I work for could pass away. She is a lovely wonderful woman and though it took me a while to get to know her, I am very glad I did. This is a woman of amazing strength and determination.

Normally, I handle death fairly well. I was there when my dad died and never even shed a tear. But this comes at a particularly difficult time of year for me. The anniversary of Truett’s death is in just three days. That is something I have never handled well. He was taken from us too soon and there are so many unanswered questions.Then there is the whole bit about knowing I could’ve prevented it had I been patient and not selfish. This is also the year his murderer is to be released from prison after serving a mere eight years.

It leaves me to think of my own life. My life is very different from what I grew up in. The sticks of South Georgia can be a cruel and unforgiving place. I have come very far and still have many roads ahead to travel. And this month those roads merge my past and my present.