It’s always a surprise to me when the year draws to a close.   I like to look back and think about how things have changed, and how things have stayed the same.   It helps me to realize that things I worried about and stressed over either amounted to nothing, or were resolved.   This year will be the same, I’m sure.

There are new aches and pains.   There are new worries as we all grow older.   Some things became more difficult.  Some things became easier.

Through it all, I’ve realized that my dreams have come true in ways that I never thought possible and all the “stuff” is just that, just “stuff” that won’t really matter all that much next year at this time.

It’s not what I started out to write about but that’s okay – like life, my words often take their own path.   It’s actually been a good year – more good than bad.   Maybe sitting down to write has made me realize that.   I’ve learned a lot about myself, about who I really am down under all the surface stuff.   And I like that person.   A lot.  I feel like I’m me again, for a long time, I was the person everyone else thought I should be – and it’s taken 10 years with Mark for me to be the person I am, the person he always saw, the person he gives me strength enough to be.