by Tina Seymour Demoran, Esquire

Yesterday, my husband and I shared pictures on Facebook of our home closing.

Yes—after many years of hard work, dedication, and patience, we are in a position to buy our dream home.  Our retirement home.  The home that our kids and grandkids have plenty of room to play in when they come visit us. The home that will host many football watch parties, many pool parties, and many family and company gatherings.

We are excited, and yes, a bit proud of this event.

Buying this home was a big life event for us.  We wanted to share it with our friends and family online.

So, we posted the “holding the keys” picture and made our announcement on Facebook.There were so many congratulations, it was amazing.     Yet, the catty IMs also started hitting my personal page.

“Must be nice to just walk into something like that.”

“Well, I mean, you have that charmed life, so of course you’re going to be able to afford a home like that.”

And my personal favsorite:

“I’d be able to have a house like that if I didn’t have to deal with a major health issue and a divorce.”

I took the catty remarks in stride and didn’t even respond to the IMs.

As an attorney and the owner of two law firms, I have to have thick skin. Yet, part of me also realized that the picture on Facebook showed my husband and I at a good moment in time.  It doesn’t show the rest of the story.

I also realized that this picture could make people online feel less due to their current situation.

Trust me, a few years ago, my life was completely different than my current situation.

So, in order to let everyone out there know that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel he or she is currently travelling through….I thought I’d share a bit of my background with my readers.

In 2009, at age 35, I was diagnosed with colon cancer.

In 2010, I had the first of three knee surgeries that resulted in a permanent partial disability in my right knee.

In 2011, I found out that I was never going to be able to bear a child full-term.

In 2012, I ended a 12-year failed marriage.

In 2015, I was told that I was a fool to walk away from my corporate, cushy career to open my own law firm—that I would fail horribly and have to beg to get my old job back.

Yet, in the middle of it all, I never lost faith.

I turned my physical therapy into a mission.  When the ortho doctors told me that I’d never run again or that I’d never have enough strength or balance in my right knee/thigh to wear anything other than flat shoes…I made it my goal to prove them wrong.

Since that date, I’ve placed first, second and third in my age group in 5ks and am currently training for my first half marathon.

I’m also currently wearing a rather cute pair of 4-inch wedge heels with my blue jeans as I write this column.

While I couldn’t bear my own child, I became an advocate for children, from becoming a Guardian Ad Litem in Chancery Court to general counsel for several children’s advocacy groups in Mississippi.

While my first marriage failed, I found love again and my husband and I will celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary this Fall.

This marriage also gave me the children I so truly desired:  a handsome and accomplished stepson, a beautiful and brilliant daughter-in-law, and a gorgeous granddaughter…with another on the way.

I now own two successful law firms and a consulting/professional expert business, with plans to expand state-wide in the next two years.

I went from a flat-footed self-proclaimed failure to having High Heels and High Expectations.

If you’re going through strife and turmoil in your own life, whether it be from a legal issue, a work-related issue or a personal issue, don’t look at others’ lives and think that you will never get back on your feet and find success, find love, or find your dream job.

Instead, realize that life is a dynamic journey with ups and downs and successes and failures.

Change is the one constant in all of our lives.

Stay focused on the future, work hard, have faith, and realize that the present doesn’t dictate your future.

It is merely where you are right now.

When you see a person’s online post or view a person’s life and find your own lacking in any manner, realize this…you are seeing only a snapshot of their entire journey.

They could be dealing with the same issues you are dealing with…or may have dealt with their own troubles in the past.

Hang in there.  Have faith.

The best could very well be yet to come.