It is hard to believe that my time in Congress is concluding. As I look back on my time in the House of  Representatives, and the rest of my life, I am filled with gratitude for the journey that led me to this point. I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in one of the most consequential periods in our nation’s history. That reality will never be lost on me.

I didn’t always have this success in my life. Over 30 years ago, I left an abusive husband and became a single mom with a young daughter. At times, I had no money and no place to live. I never would have dreamed in a million years that I would someday become a member of Congress and the voice for thousands of men, women, and children in the halls of our nation’s Capitol, where so many American icons have walked.