On the night of December 24th–post-church service and pre-cookie binging–I opened a fortune cookie at the Mongolian grill restaurant, expectant of good news.

“A loved one will soon call you from a distance.”

Naturally, my imagination carried the words away into a far-off land as I conjured up the perfect fantasy. I imagined living in New York City, decorating our city apartment and walking our dog to the nearest coffee shop around the corner. I imagined living in a foreign land with children running in and out of my dirt doorway. I imagined anything but where I was in that moment, anxious to leave behind everything about me that breathed and lived on December 24th.

Because I did not like who I was in that evening, so I let someone else’s words define me…

full story on sarahbakerwrites.com