Eight years ago....

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me if I was better off today than I was eight years ago.

That is a no-brainer question for me... I'm 100 percent better off now!

In 2000, I was single and starting a job at the third largest newspaper in Georgia. Although my career was in a good place, my personal life was nonexistent and very lonely. My income was improving, but the world of journalism consumed my life.

Fast-forward eight years and I'm happily married with a wonderful, beautiful daughter and a son on the way. I've given up my career to become a stay-at-home mom and freelance writer.

I think the improvements in my life came from the choices I made... and not because of the person in the White House or those in Congress.

I came from a working-class family with a Mama who worked many more hours than she rested... and I made a decision years ago that I would do everything I could to have something different than that.

I look back now and realize that all the years I worked in newspapers I gave much more of myself than I ever received in a paycheck... and I enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't work nearly as hard as my Mama worked, but journalism was the center of my life.

The second presidential debate comes on tonight and it will be interesting to see how many times they refer to how the American people are now compared to eight years ago.

I'm not sure either Pat or I fall in line with most Americans.... and that's a good thing.