2011 In Retrospect

2011........

What a Year, where to start, what to remember and what to forget.......

We started the new year the way we ended the last, with my Mom's illness and ultimate Death in February.  Interestingly, I have always said ...Her Passing....but it was a Death......My Mom Died.  The life she lived with so much Zeal, ended with a few years of confusion, frustration and illness but years filled with Defiance, Stubbornness and a Will to Keep on Keeping on.

The next few months were filled with a lifetime of memories rekindled. A house....A Home... was boxed up and sold, the good and bad side of a family were revealed, a chapter in life was closed and another opened. The months were filled with emotions ranging from sadness, to anger, to grief, to depression, to a body and mind aching with pain, to a sigh of relief and loss......to surviving. It became an accumulation of the last six years funneled down into a place where we could finally stop, take a breath and rest a while. Years not forgotten but finally having some closure, some perspective and written in the history books of the minds of each of those who participated with their own twist, circumstances, pride and misgivings.

The year ended with an adventure that had been talked about and longed for, for years, as the final chapter, the closing event, the end of an era and the beginning of a new fork in the road of life. It was an adventure of a lifetime and started a yearning for more and more adventures, a breath of fresh air in a life that had been clouded in darkness way too long.

2011.......

A year I would not want to re live but a year that taught so many life lessons. It was a year that gave life a reality check but showed there is light at the end of the tunnel.  It showed that the mind and body are stronger than we think and truly are a gift from God.  Even though the struggles beat us up, tear us down, drain our strength to the very core and make us fill like we can't go on.......We Keep On Going On.....and On.....and On......

So we say goodbye to 2011 and keep in our hearts and minds what we learned from it.  We cherish the life we have and we cherish those who have come into our lives and make the world a better place. We look to 2012 with anticipation of the wonder and possibilities beyond our dreams and pray for God's Blessing along the way.  We look for the Best in a world where even the small things can bring us Happiness.  We look to a world where sadness and grief can become Victory and Joy, where the Warmth and Love of those around us shines a Light that will overcome any obstacles along the way. We Trust and Hope and Live.........

and the Journey Continues........