2007 in Review

Happy New Year, everyone!

At the end of every year I try to look back to the previous 12 months and review the good and bad. So here's a rundown of the year for me:

• JANUARY: Don discovered a lesion inside his mouth. He had it biopsied and discovered it was cancer. Not the best news to get at the very beginning of the year. I remember feeling totally shattered and wondering if Don would ever be able to enjoy good health and we could have some sense of normalcy to our lives.



• FEBRUARY: Adam and Beth got married. The wedding was a very casual affair and Adam and Beth were very happy. After all the struggles that Adam had been through, I was hopeful that this would be a positive new chapter in his life. **Don had surgery on his mouth. While we made the difficult and risky decision to opt for a less-invasive procedure, it was still very involved. Don needed about 6 weeks to recover, during which he had to endure a loathsome feeding tube and great discomfort.



• MARCH: This was a relatively quiet month. After 5 months of dieting, I reached my Weight Watchers goal! I also began training as a fitness instructor at an aerobic studio. I had a sense of accomplishment and pride in my fitness level.



• APRIL: After nearly cancelling this trip due to Don's prolonged healing process, we went on our first cruise. It was so much fun and very relaxing: just what we needed! We stopped in Cozumel, Belize and Costa Maya (had to skip Grand Cayman due to dangerous waves).



• MAY: Don bumps his leg, resulting in a gash that required 10 stitches. Because of his suppressed immune system, the wound became terribly infected and there was some talk about surgery. This freak accident took about 6 weeks to heal.



• JUNE: Leiacha was born about 7 weeks early but healthy. I drove down while Beth was in labor but missed the actually delivery by 90 minutes. I was a "Gammy."







• JULY: I did a shoe-string budget kitchen make-over. The cabinets, counter-tops and tiles all got painted. We added handles to the cabinets and new lighting. Then we purchased a new stainless steel range and replaced the dishwasher door with a new stainless steel one. For less than $1600 I got a kitchen that looks like new!





• AUGUST: I climbed Mt. Washington with some friends. The hike was difficult but greatly rewarding. This was the third time I had done this and each time it became more challenging. I vowed never to attempt this climb again. We'll see. ***Don and I went on vacation. We spent time in New Paltz/wine country New York. We stayed at a wonderful B&B and travelled to numerous wineries, sampling all the way. Then we travelled down to Adam and Beth's to spend time with them and Leiacha.



• SEPTEMBER: Back to school! I was thrilled to be placed with the same students I had the year before.***Barbara and Campbell, our friends from Scotland, came to visit. We had a great time and I am hoping to visit them in the summer.***Leiacha came up from PA with her grandfather and we had her with us for a couple of days. It's great being a Grandmother!



• OCTOBER: Don and I quietly celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Don surprised me by designing custom-made postage stamps in honor of the occasion.



• NOVEMBER: Just a quiet month of giving thanks. We participated in throwing a surprise 80th birthday party for Don's dad. It's hard for me to see my father-in-law as 80. I have known him for 38 years and love him like my own dad.



• DECEMBER: This year's Christmas present is a vacation to New Mexico in April! We are hoping to look at real estate in hopes of liking the area so much, we leave the snow and cold of MA and move within the next 1-3 years. ***I got several pieces of great news. One of my dearest friends has a lump in her breast but it is not breast cancer. What a great relief! Makes you realize just how valuable your health and your friends are.

So, that's it. Nothing too earth-shattering. Sounds like allot of tough times with Don's health impacting our lives but this is something we try to live with as best we can. I think the joys in our lives, the happy times and fun far outweighs the difficult times.


Wishing you a happy, healthy 2008!

Happy Holidays!

I just wanted to take some time and share a Christmas story with you. In the chaos of the season, sometimes we forget...

I work at a school for emotionally disabled children. These kids are damaged beyond belief by genetics and circumstances, many from unspeakable abuses at the hands of those that they love and trust the most. I had an encounter with one of our younger kids yesterday that brought tears to my eyes.
It was recently revealed that this child has been repeatedly sexually abused by someone in his household. He's been having great difficulty at school lately, erupting in rages and then collapsing in heart-wrenching sobs. I approached the boy to offer him a "Merry Christmas" greeting. His eyes fixed on the cheap, loud jingle bell I had dangling from my neck. In an almost inaudible voice, I heard him say, "I used to have a bell like that and I wore it every year. It's all rusted now." His eyes dropped to his lap and a sad look clouded over him. I slowly removed the bell and placed it over his head and around his neck. The boy gently cradled the bell in his hands and said softly, "It was just like this one." Not understanding that I had given him the bell, I said, "You can keep it." His eyes lifted to meet my gaze and a look of disbelief and amazement swept over his face. "I can keep it? It's mine?" I smiled and assured him that he could keep it.

Seeing this child's face light up over such a simple gift was overwhelming for me and I had to leave the room. I can only hope that this little Christmas bell rings for him for a very long time.

Merry Christmas.

Holiday Crunch Time

It's that time of year!

Every Christmas I find that I cannot enjoy the holiday unless I put out all the little items that recall memories of Christmas' past. While this may sound like a sweet and sentimental tradition, it has become a major holiday event in my home, one that harks headaches, frustrations and numerous runs to Home Depot to pick up lights, extension cords and duct tape.

This one-day marathon event begins at the crack of dawn (I cannot stay in bed as my mind wakes with the thoughts of all the work I need to get done). It ends when I have put up the last ornament and turned on every window candle in the house OR when I collapse from sheer exhaustion, whichever comes first.

The evening before "the big event," I have a wild panic that sweeps over me. Visions of broken bulbs, tangled garland and finding where I put the timer for the spotlight dance through my head, making sleep difficult.

I will begin the day cleaning the house. I refuse to put up the decorations until every last dust bunny has surrendered. I vacuum, dust, wash and polish. ...and then decorating begins.

I'll drag boxes up and down the stairs for hours, carefully unpacking and placing items all over the house. Then I'll pack all the displaced items and haul them back down the stairs. This will all be accomplished with the precision and focus of a madwoman.

I obsess over the smallest details, wondering if that snowman would look better here, or there. Eventually, I carefully place each item in the exact same spot it was in the previous year.

By the time all this is over, I look and feel like a woman who has been trekking through the jungle: totally exhausted, dripping in sweat, hair flying. Not a pretty picture.

What is wrong with me! Every Christmas I pledge to myself that this will not happen. When Christmas is over, I gently pack away all my beloved holiday treasures, vowing that I am saying goodbye for the last time. I always assure myself that NEXT year, I will minimize the decorating and keep everything simple.

But when all is said and done, Christmas just isn't the same without those small reminders of holidays past. Surrounded by every Christmas I have known and comforted by the familiar, I am filled with warmth. It's all worth it!

Where Did Thanksgiving Go?

Here it is, the weekend before Thanksgiving. I can't believe it's here. Maybe that's because all the TV ads and stores are screaming at us to begin our Christmas shopping. Where did Thanksgiving go?

I suppose the retail industry has the need to boost sales with early-shopping specials. That's all well and good. However, I think it's taking it WAY too far when I hear Christmas carols while I'm shopping for Halloween decorations. Why can't they wait until after Thanksgiving? We'll still have the same number of people to buy gifts for.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It evokes some of the fondest memories of my childhood: the smell of turkey roasting all day; the anticipation of taking that first bite of delicious, juicy turkey; sitting at the "kids table"; the hot-muggy feeling in the kitchen mingled with the hustle and bustle of activity; the sounds of family members talking and laughing; arguing over the prized legs; pulling on the wishbone until it snapped and a "winner" declared, secure in the knowledge that their wish would come true; leftovers; the satisfying feeling of a full belly and heart.

Thanksgiving, for me, has always meant a time to enjoy the simpler pleasures of good food, loving family and friends. It's a holiday that comes from the heart and nurtures the soul. I always feel connected to a larger force, that I am not alone in this world and thankful for all the blessings of my life.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Things I Miss From Childhood

At 53, I know I am not THAT old. But time does march on and lately I have had some yearnings for "the good old days."

It's not that I want to revert back in time. I love being in the present. We have magical technology that links the world through fingertips. I can take photos and videos on my cell phone. Exploring the world through travel is so much easier and accessible. Dishwashers and microwaves have made my life much more manageable. I love the here and now.

But it might be fun to recover a few items that have been lost in all the progress.

Drive-In Movies. I remember piling into the car as a child. Ma would get us into our pj's, pop some corn for a snack and make a jug of Koolade. Dad would fumble with the speaker box, mumbling a few choice words under his breath before finally settling down to the movie. With our pillows and blankets making us all snugly, we would be fast asleep even before the feature film was presented. When I started dating, going to the drive-in was an excuse for a make-out session. I'm certain that drive-in movies contributed to more than a few surprise pregnancies. Maybe that's why most of them have been torn down.

Soda in glass bottles. Something about soda in bottles that tastes much fresher and colder.

Rotary phones and party lines. There was just something very soothing about placing your index finger into the dial and having the satisfying sound of the return rotation. Though today's push buttons give you much quicker dialing speed, I am sure that I now dial more wrong numbers. As for party lines, I loved sharing a phone line with the neighbors. The telephone had a distinct ring for each household. It was like receiving a prize when your ring came up. Not only that, but I could eavesdrop on another conversation. This is not something I'm proud of and I certainly wouldn't want anyone listening in on my conversation. Just a guilty pleasure as a child.

Full service gas stations. It's rare to find a station attendant that will pump your gas, let alone check your oil or wash your windows. I have reluctantly become accustomed to pumping my own gas but it sure would be nice to not have to do it on cold or rainy days.

Milk delivered to your door. I remember our Hood delivery man. His name was "Red" and he was a cheerful, friendly guy who sometimes slipped us kids an ice cream on hot days. Red never let us run out of milk, butter, eggs or bread. Nowadays, I will make two or three separate trips to the grocery store because I have forgotten to pick up the milk or bread or eggs or butter. Red, where are you when I need you today?

Woolworth's. In case you don't know about Woolworth's, it was a store. But not just any store. It carried a wide variety of items from penny candy to shoes to hardware to kitchen towels. Just about everything and all very cheap. But Woolworth's, to me, was more than just a store. I'd spend hours roaming around with my friends, trying on clothes, buying little trinkets and having a relaxed, fun time. When we got tired of shopping for nothing, we'd have a seat at the store's diner where you could sit on a stool and order the world's best grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries, and chocolate shakes. If I close my eyes, I can still hear the creak of the old, wide plank wood floors and smell the odd combination of mustiness, mothballs and grease that welcomed all who entered Woolworth's.

I'm really not sure what brought on this wave of nostalgia. In any event, a trip down memory lane and a visit to "Happy Days" was fun!