Twas a very good year

Looking back on 2009, I'm amazed with just how much happened! Maybe that's a part of getting older though, realizing and appreciating moments both specifically and as a whole. I will remember to look back fondly on this year of years. I am blessed and thankful with healthy and happy family and friends.

With the passing of every year, also comes the sad passing of many greats who have made impacts on our lives in one way or another..

Yes, Virginia

Old friend

My thoughts are with some dear friends who lost their father to cancer last night. I know that words can be hopelessly inadequate, but I'm thinking about you all and sending all the love that my heart holds.

In retrospect

My nephew was born on the same day that my dad died in 1995. Same day, same time frame. I did not know him then, it would be at least 10 years before I would have the boy in my life. I remember the day of my dad's death so vividly as a day of sorrow, a day of confusion, and of great loss.. how would anything ever be okay again? These would be the same emotions and feelings of emptiness I would later feel on Thanksgiving of 2002.

I saw a woman at the gym the other day who looked like my mom. Maybe she didn't in retrospect, but I found myself watching her as she walked away. I wished this stranger would turn around and be my mom.. I fantasized what I would do or say if it was really her. I felt my eyes welling up, something that hasn't happened in a while.

The love you hold never goes away. After all these years I still have moments when my heart aches. Hard to imagine getting used to a broken heart, but you learn to live again every time. I celebrate my nephew's birthday with joy each year, and Thanksgiving remains one of my favorite holidays.

Delta Fair

On Labor Day we went to the Delta Fair in Memphis. One might assume that a fair is a fair is a fair. I did. That is to say, I did before walking through the gates. Immediately I saw a statue of Charlie Chaplin.. but hold the phone.. no, not a statue! It was a woman (or a very little man) decked out head to toe and painted. I'm still so upset with myself for not taking photos of that gem.

Anyway, the fair was amazing.. delicious smells and magical colors, cheesy booths and sketchy rides, a truck pull, a petting zoo, "freak" show, medieval jousting, camel rides (and the ostrich racing and Banana Derby seemed to come straight from one of my favorite classic movies 'Swiss Family Robinson.') Best $8 I've ever spent.. not counting the Funnel Cake which was fried and full of guilty flavor.

Awkward? Yes, please.

For a good daily dose of my vitamin laugh, I check out Awkward Family Photos. In case you don't already, you should too.. and tell your body I said you're welcome.
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

Is the grass really greener? Maybe it's just the lighting.

Rudy Huxtable is grown up and has the seemingly perfect job. She is happy and paid well and content with where her life is.. then another job comes her way, one that she would have taken in a heartbeat earlier. Too little too late? Or does she take the chance?

Obviously in this case, Cliff Huxtable (or Claire for that matter) would offer a perspective previously unseen followed by amazing advice. Our lives, for the most part, are not part of a sitcom.. so what advice would your inner Cliff or Claire give? Would YOU stick with what makes you happy now, or risk it all for what would have made you happy then?

I got a fortune cookie once that read "Imagine you could get what you want.." Wow, true story. Let's play along with this text and imagine. Not too much though. Over analyzing is never a flattering trait, so skip it. Forget about the fortune for now Rudy, throw it away and stick with what you know works.

Maybe it is just the lighting after all.. because that grass on the other side is starting to look a little dingy to me.