Alex Nicollet DelonNot too long ago, I became a statistic when I did what many of you have already done - and what many others dream of doing. I left home. Only I did it with a Bullmastiff that outweighs me by forty pounds and my spanking new Medicare card. Yup, sixty-ive and single for the first time since I was seventeen. Instead of closing the door while I mopped up tears, I slammed that sucker behind me and drove from Phoenix to Flagstaff, Arizona without a jacket. Not a great idea on the first of November in the high country. If you are in your 30's, 40's, or even 50's, don't let my age throw you. One of the most surprising things I've learned in the last couple of years is that when it comes to ending relationships, we are pretty much all in the same place. As women, our default is to wonder - even when he is abusive or he plays around - what we did wrong. Brad was the one that had affairs, but I felt like I was going to be the one to screw up Christmas. I was his wife, the mother of three grown sons. I had ten grandchildren that grew up eating chocolate chip cookies and peanuts in our bed as we watched Disney movies. I didn't just leave Brad. I left my life - a life which, other than his tempers, empty promises, and affairs, was good. It had taken a jumble of courage, fear, and desperation to stay. It took those same things to finally walk away. Suffice to say, when I left, the fun began. The book, which began as a dating manual for women re-entering the dating pool, nee: swamp, later in life, evolved. The more I experienced the more my own exploits became the illustrative anecdotes I would use to give the newly-single a perspective on what they would be facing. And the more I wrote, the more I realized how I was growing and changing. Today, I'm proud to tell you I'm an evolution. Finally. And I say that with a gush of relief and a smile of satisfaction. Sure, I still have days I stutter, step back, or plop down and grab a few tissues, but those are rare now, and more likely because I stubbed my toe. I'm terrified to fail, but more excited and determined to research, write, get a golf game, stretch out my stubborn hamstrings, enjoy the wonderful people in my life, and learn to dance. I revel in my newly-claimed independence. Having moved from our family's home base in the Phoenix area to a beautiful beach town in the heart of San Diego, I revel in exploring my new home, on foot. Read More Read Less