The New Year

Everyone's resolutions broken yet? No? Ok, it's just me that's ahead of the game on that. I'm not saying that making resolutions is bad or pointless, they just never work out for me. I always make the same ones, maybe that's why I have such a high failure rate. They are sort of generic ones even. I always vow that I will cuss less ( which ends the second I'm in traffic), I'm going to lose weight/get in shape ( then my husband cooks dinner), I'm not going to procrastinate ( I'll do that next year, ha ha), so it goes. I like to look back at the previous year and evaluate my life so to speak. So here is what I learned this year: My husband makes better hotel reservations than I do, you cannot set a cruise control for 85 mph, there is no truer saying than ' make your words soft and sweet, you"ll never know which ones you'll have to eat', and Murphy's Law is as sure as gravity, death and taxes. Actually I've known those last two things for a long time.
But also in this past year I've seen tragedy and miracles. And these things are what makes life the bumpy road it is, I guess. My nephew Randy had a brain aneurysm burst in the spring, and is on the honor roll at school now. I'm not sure if that is one big miracle or a bunch of small ones. I have been a nurse a long time, I've seen many sad and happy events transpire in a hospital setting. Seeing my sister watch helplessly as one of her children was gravely ill was one of the hardest things I've ever witnessed. I worked in critical care for years so I understood the array of equipment in his room but never had I looked at that situation through the eyes of a loved one. Thankfully we can say he is none the worse for wear, a true miracle.
We had to have our Mesa put to sleep this spring. My husband never had children of his own, but he had Mesa. He found her on the street in San Antonio and took her home. She was a very sweet dog, but a protector too. I loved watching her trot down the beach, totally ignoring everyone else. She had her own agenda and nothing swayed her from it. She idolized Randy and it was obvious to anyone who saw them that he loved her like a child. She had always been a good friend to him and in the end he was a good friend to her, and decided to let her go. We will always miss her. I still picture her sneaking up to lick Caden's little bald head on his first trip here.
We adopted our pound puppy in July. He is a jack russell terrorist. Actually, he is a very sweet and loving dog. He fitted in with Diesel and Dreagan seamlessly. It seems like he has always been our dog. I am so glad that the people who adopted him and then changed their minds, returning him to the shelter did so. He is an awesome dog and we love him. The strange thing is, he has many mannerisms and habits just like Mesa did. It's almost weird at times. He is obsessive and compulsive and loves to play fetch and tug-of-war. He is a cuddler too which is very nice.
Our newest addition Colton Marcus arrived in November. I love having grandchildren. They are two of the cutest boys I've ever seen. He is a very sweet baby and is a joy to hold. I said that he looks just like me, he has dimples and a double chin. Caden is a good big brother, so far as I have seen, the real test will be when Colton is big enough to play with one of his brother's toys. Caden is a very busy little person, just like his father was. With Brock though there were a million questions about anything and everything like ' how high is the sky?' and 'how does grass know to grow up?' and ' what are clouds made of?' . So when I hear Caden say something like that I will know that life has made a circle.
Back to my original theme, I have seen and learned a lot this year. My resolutions will probably go unresolved as usual. So, I decided this year that I will make new and different ones. I AM going to learn to bake bread. I AM going to make my little winter village that I bought all of the supplies for weeks ago. I AM going to paint the front room, dining room and living room. I AM going to make/finish all of my craft projects. I AM going to be the best wife/mom/friend that I can be. I have one wish for the new year and that is love. Love your self, your coworkers, your children, your neighbor, the world is in need of this. Peace and love to you all.