What a Year!

My Dearest Family and Friends,

2011 hasn't been half bad.  It is leaps and bounds above 2010 in more ways than I can count. Except for the illness of my much-loved mother-in-law it's been pretty good.

Son #1 started a new job.  This is the kid who, at 15 or so, I would gladly have rented out for a few years (just joshin').  He's turned into a remarkable  man.  All the qualities we saw in him as a child--his humor, his charm--have blossomed. I'm so proud!

Son #2 keeps growing.  They love him at work and at home. His expanded family is beginning to gel. He has become a fine man. He, like his brother, is driven to succeed. He has ideas and the intelligence and creativity to make them happen. I'm so proud!

The women they have chosen to be life mates are wonderful additions to our little family. All the best qualities reside in them--compassion, loving hands, intelligence and nurturing. How joyful!

I'm blessed with six grandchildren, three boys and three girls, some natural and some acquired. I sometimes forget which are which. I love them all.  I love the way they laugh, the way they hug, the way they play, the way they tell stories, the way a smile makes their noses crinkle.  I see them making great accomplishments.

Hubby and I have been together more than 40 years.  We have ups and downs, but we always end up in the same place.  He's more handsome now than he was when we married. I guess you could call us lucky.  Through all the good stuff and all the bad stuff, I know I am loved.

This year I've been through a myriad of changes, far too many to report here.   I started my blog.  I went kayaking for the first time. I took Pilates and tried Y-boxing and Zumba---way too much energy for this old lady!  I've made lots of new friends online and off.  I've found cousins again who have enriched my family and old friends--I'm talking people I knew as a 4 year old--who let me remember who I was in my carefree childhood.  I am blessed!    In July my company sent me to Las Vegas--I had never been there--and a got to go for an extra few days with a friend who knew her way around.  We had a wonderful time--once in a lifetime for me.  I'm glad I had the chance to experience it.  I've discovered that my brain is only 16!  So much of life yet to live!

In October I turned my back on my longtime career in sales and became a caregiver.  Is it working out? I'm not sure.

Best of all, a year ago, more or less, I found a new church. In January I officially became a member; this coming January, I will be installed on the church council. I've made so many friends there.  The fellowship I've found is incredible.  The Pastor encourages my faith to grow with every sermon he gives, every prayer he says.  I am home.

I had a sense of foreboding a few months ago.  That feeling has been replaced with anticipation.  I can feel things sliding into place.  I wonder what adventure awaits?  The book is slowly shaping up.  How I will publish it, I don't know, but it will happen.

Ideas flow through my head like the proverbial river.  Sometimes they are dark thoughts and most times they are pleasant ones. As 2011 ends, I am learning how to use them.  I hope to use my words to change just one life for the better.

To all who read this, to all who don't--I wish you the happiest Christmas you have ever had and the most joyful new year that life can bring.  May we all be generous in giving our love and forgiveness, especially to those we think least deserve it.  Reach out to an old friend or touch the hand of a new one.  If you know God, rejoice in Him. If you don't, give Him a chance--He's not such a bad guy, you know.

As 2011 ends, and as I write this (whether it is from my dark side or the light), I know one thing for sure.  I have friends and family who care, and I love you for that.

A very Merry Christmas to all, and God bless us, every one.