**Jen**

Layout by CoolChaserI'm the girl next door, the one the neighbors watch when she leaves the house each day. I'm the girl who always gets the double take when walking the dog each night. They think - ? and then see me walk. I walk proudly, tall and graceful. I was raised to be proud of everything I am - I'm a fighter. For myself and others. I'm a fantastic mom - or at least my sons think so. I am a veracious lover of life - I want to see and do and learn. My gypsy blood is the blessing that has shown me this wonderful country through the screen of my tent or the window of a car. My canoe is my independent zen. My sons - are the breath of my lungs and the throb of my heart. My family is my spine and my noose. My job is my paycheck that allows me to do the things I was meant to do on this earth. Help, care, tend, live, feel. I am breaching the barrier of fear and learning that solitude is not being alone. Confidence is just a veneer, and arrogance is just sunglasses over insecurity. I am here walking this earth as lightly as I can but raising a hell of a lot of noise while doing so. I'm certainly not one to be easily forgotten - but you are the one that needs to figure out why. Enjoy your adventures in life - we have no expiration date stamped on our asses, but we have one. Drink it all before it goes sour and you get thrown in the pit with the others.