I am 26 years old. I have two children, am currently going through a separation, and I have never lived on my own before with my children. I have lived in my husband's house, but have never had to pay rent along with all the other expenses of having children. As you can imagine, this is a big adjustment for me. It should be no surprise that my village is what gets me through the dark days.

My village consists of four women: Cari, Ayana, Jessica and Christin. I have known Cari for 8 years, Ayana for 4 years, Jessica for a few months, and Christin for 10 years. No matter what situation I am in, each woman has come to my side through all of it. Cari's husband, Jesse, has also been there for me through a lot as well. Each person is near and dear to my heart, and each person has helped and saved me in one way or another.

More recently, Cari pulled me out of the dark hole. When I decided I wanted to separate from my husband, I was hitting the bottle every night. She noticed the signs of me going back to my old ways, and pulled me out of the darkness. I still drink, just in small amounts, and it's not nearly what it was before. Ayana watched my children so I could have a night to myself, Christin was there via text message (she lives in OK), and Jessica was there via text as well since she lives in IN.

So, the point of my article is this: Thank you to my village. With every decision I make, every time I get into the dark hole, every time I make a life-changing decision, the support I receive from you all is overwhelming, and appreciated. Thank you for being there for me at 2 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 p.m., and any other time in-between. I would not be able to get through this hard and difficult time without you.

Ladies, if you have a village like I do, make sure you thank them. They'll probably just giggle and say "Girl, it's no big deal", cause that's what mine say every time. However, I wouldn't be standing here right now, if it weren't for all of you. Thank you for everything you have ever done for me.