2007 filled with loss, reconnecting (12/31/07)

2007 is almost over. It has been a bit of an eventful year, as most years are. First my brother-in-law, Joe and then my husband were diagnosed with diabetes. Due to diligently watching his diet my husband has lost between 60 and 80 pounds. That is the equivalent of at least three Granddaughter Emmas. The addition of a longer paper route helped speed up his weight loss efforts. His brother Joe has his diabetes under control, also.

I highly recommend a paper route for anyone wanting to lose weight. It is the only way I know of to get paid for working out. No excuses are accepted and rain is seen as "refreshing." Snow and ice are "balance exercises." The extra weight of the paper at the holidays is to be considered a form of weight lifting.

I had two very minor bouts with skin cancer and learned that liquid nitrogen stings when it is applied to the face and rises up in impressive clouds when it is tossed on the floor.

I was fortunate to meet several relatives I didn't know I had and to reconnect with the ones I remembered. A truce of sorts was formed between feuding factions and that is an accomplishment in and of itself.

A school chum called me this fall. We hadn't talked for more than thirty years. We had once been the best of friends then life interfered and we went our separate ways. Neither of us knows how to contact the third member of our once-inseparable trio.

I went on a "girls day" with another old friend and was reminded how much I miss her. We talked about how much more difficult it is to make friends than it used to be and made promises to get together more often and in better weather.

The child of my cousin stopped by while my daughter was here for a visit this summer. He is all grown up now and has already had his first heart attack. He isn't the little blond-haired boy any more. Now he is married and has a daughter of his own. How time flies ...

All in all, it was a year of reconnecting with old acquaintances and resolving to keep in touch with friends and family once lost. There were unexpected diagnoses and easy cures. There were friends and family; job loss and job gain.

I wonder what this coming year will bring? Will my daughter find happiness again? She has had a bit of a tough time lately.

Will I ever be able to understand Emma on the telephone? She will turn two in a couple of days and like most children her age she is still learning the language. We always said young children spoke "Dutch." It was obvious they weren't speaking English as nobody could understand them, therefore they must be speaking Dutch. My husband had never heard that expression before and thought I was nuts the first time I said it.

Maybe this will be the year that Mom finally feels better. She scared me over Christmas. She got out of breath walking from the house to the car and it was almost 10 minutes or maybe more before her breathing returned to normal. Moms aren't supposed to scare their daughters like that. I'm thankful she is still around to frighten me.

In the outside world there is still fighting in the Middle East. Injustice abounds all over the place. The gap between rich and poor gets wider all the time. Politicians still promise things they can't deliver. There is poverty and famine and untold horror in every country in the world.

And yet ... the sun comes up every morning, warm, bright and life giving. Babies are born, full of potential and wonder. Young people (and not-so-young people) fall in love and promise to cherish each other forever.

Cures are found for diseases that were once fatal. People find success in accomplishments and things that were once reserved for royalty. There is HOPE.

The dreary days of January and February will give way to fickle March and the earth will warm again. Life will continue to surprise us. There will be unexpected happiness and probably equally unexpected loss.

Here's to 2008. May we enjoy the treasures life brings and perhaps by the end of the year I will finally be able to understand the language of a two-year-old Emma.[[In-content Ad]]