By Tonya Sprague

Because you are our trusted readers, I feel the need to "let you in" on what has been happening to yours truly over the past month.

I was delivering The People News on Tuesday July 1st when I received a phone call just before lunchtime that my Great Uncle Thomas Haynes Brantley had passed away. As some of you might remember, in the April 2008 issue of this publication, Tonya's Tales was about a promise kept to my Uncle Tommy to find out as much as I could about our Brantley lineage and bring him our updated family tree. I will forever be grateful for the special bond that the two of us had and for the chance to tell him about our family history. At his funeral, I knelt beside his casket and whispered into his ear, "Tell them you've been waiting to meet them all, give them all my love."

As I was trying to cope with the loss of my uncle, I was also trying to come to terms with another loss. My husband of nine years decided that he no longer wanted to be with me. Without going into any details and getting too personal, he left me and so now I'm in the process of going through a divorce.

When you think about it, losing two people who meant so much to you can really "mess with your head." It's so much for one person to go through. However, I know I'm not alone in this journey. There are many of you going through your own personal issues. But I have to see this as a turning point. Bad days will come and go, but the way I look at it, I still have a whole new life to live. A life filled with many joyful times and lots of spirited laughter.

The memories I have of the days I've passed will be with me always, and now its time for me to make some new memories. I have to admit, this has been very difficult for me. I am very thankful to have family and friends that really care. Without them all, this whole situation would have been much more difficult to get through. I just have to keep reminding myself that the best way to get out of a difficulty is through it.

I always considered myself to be able to handle just about anything this old world could throw at me, but my editor would tell you differently, (he says I'm a "softy"). We'll see.

In the mean time, here's where things stand with me now. I will be changing my name back to my maiden name, Tonya Brantley. And as it just so happens, the managing editor of the Bradley News Weekly is also a Brantley. Daniel and I are distant cousins somewhere along the line. Brantley isn't a very common last name, but its one I'm proud of.

I'm not going to use this column as a source to vent my frustrations, as I don't think it would be fair to you, the readers, if I did so. I don't want to lose track of what is truly relevant.

So with these new changes in my life, its time I reevaluate my priorities. I'm learning to see each issue I face as an opportunity to grow. Whether in my personal life, or in my professional life, I am ready, able and willing to take on the challenges I may face in the future. After all, "Life is a test, it is only a test. Had this been a real life, you would have been instructed where to go and what to do."


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