The End of 2009

Many people are anxious to ring in the New Year and put 2009 behind them. “Out with the old, in with the new,” they say. Some people would like to go so far as to forget that this year ever even happened.

Have you heard about the industrial sized shredder placed in Times Square? People can literally shred their bitter memories of the past twelve months. Just toss in momentos from failed relationships, bad choices, missed opportunities ... slips of paper documenting lost employment, financial hardships, medical bills. The idea is all the “bad stuff” goes in the shredder and comes out an unrecognizable heap of trash that gets carted off, never to be seen again. Ram yesterday through a shredder and abracadabra, a fresh start.

The “trash” of our past cannot be made to magically disappear though. It is that very “trash” that shapes us, defines us, makes us who we are.

By some accounts, 2009 wasn’t a very good year for us. But what may not have been taken into consideration was that in 2009 . . .

• We experienced the birth of our incredible baby boy and have watched him in amazement every day since.
• We’ve worked on blending two wonderful families, a continual work in progress of evolving roles and relationships.
• We’ve been surrounded by the love and support of family and friends.
• We sought out and found top medical care, and the insurance allowed us to do so.
• We’ve met remarkably kind people along our many paths who have helped lighten our load.
• We’ve managed to find laughter no matter where we've gone or what we've done.
• We were reminded of what is important in life and to value and treasure those things.
• We were blessed in that we were able to face each challenge and celebrate each victory together. Having each other sometimes makes all the difference in the world.
• We heard the magical words “No Evidence of Disease.”

• While most would agree that the diagnosis of cancer isn’t a good thing (I would concur), without that diagnosis, treatment cannot begin. You can’t treat what you don’t know is there. E. is fighting and E. is winning. And that is nothing but good.

And I don't want any of that to disappear. I want to hold those memories tight . . . they are important to me and part of me. 2009 was, most definitely, monumental. It is with a little bit of sadness that I say goodbye to another year.

Hand in hand, side by side, we are ready for 2010. We know that no matter what happens, we’ll experience it together. We’re ready. It’s going to be another amazing year. I just know it.

Happy New Year!

S.