I walked into a wine store Friday night to pick up a bottle of red and gravitated towards this bottle immediately because of the label. I'd had a rough week, with one curveball after another thrown at me. To my surprise, I made it out relatively unscathed. When I realized I was pretty much okay in spite of everything that had happened, I remembered a conversation I had with my friend Tricia a couple of years ago at a time when things were so bad that I thought I'd never be able to climb out of that hole.

"I know it sucks right now," Tricia said. "But the good thing about having really terrible things happen to you is that you find out that you're strong enough to handle anything."

It was hard to see that tiny sliver of silver lining back then but I see now that she was absolutely right. Life has been quite good to me for the past few years but inevitably, every so often things just don't go my way. And when that happens, it's fine. I can take stock, hopefully learn a lesson or two, and move on. No fuss. No drama.

C'est la vie!

(Footnote: It was indeed a nice bottle of wine.)