Greetings and Wishes for a New Year

I know it's NOT the first day of 2008, but it's the SECOND day, and that's close enough for a former government worker. [Especially one who had a swollen knee on January 1!]

I wish that I could be like my Dearly Beloved and wish a HNY, even to those with whom I have had disagreements during the past year. That they and I could, as he so wonderfully phrased it, "...let bygones be bygone..." but that just doesn't work for a few folks out there, and I think you know who you are. I'm just not that big a person. Frankly, I hope I don't become so "enlightened" that I can forgive a low-life, lying, scum-suckin', afterbirth-eatin', knuckle-draggin', mouth-breathin', mono-syllabic speakin' cretin who hurts, physically or emotionally, someone within one degree of separation from me! I can deal with the rest of the personal "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," just don't mess with those near and dear to me.

To Everyone Else, in meat space and on-line, whom I know or have met during the last year, may blessings shower upon you like a gentle rain that soothes and nourishes the Earth. May you have Health to enjoy Prosperity that comes your way this year. And may all these blessings extend to your nearest and dearest.

I need to give some linky love to my friend Peter right now. Several of us, [Lawdog and the Dearly Beloved that I know of, for sure] have been buggin' Peter to start a blog for, well... forever. He tells the most amazing stories because he has had the good or mis- [depending on how you look at it] fortune to live an extremely interesting life. So go give a read to the latest addition to my blogroll Bayou Renaissance Man. I think you'll find something right up your alley there. If you like puns, I know you will, sooner or later. Peter simply can't help himself when it comes to the puns!

Snot-Nosed Step Son, Matt G, posed an interesting question over on his blog. He wanted his readers to ask themselves is they were better off now than they were a year ago. The fabulous LaP, who pens Phlegm Fatale, did a run through her blog roll as an end of the year recap. I am gonna steal shamelessly from both of them in my end of the year look-back/first post of the year Thanks.

If you've read the Dearly Beloved's Expert Witness blog, then you know what he, and by extension I, was going through last year at this time. But, I also had another couple of stressors around the same time he lost his brother...I had a wreck that totalled my truck, and about a week after that, a dear family friend and the Daddy of my Cousin's wife, died after a long illness. Things were just beginning to lighten up and we were about to take a much needed vacation out to Terlingua when DB broke his hip. I was literally on my way out the door to buy provisions for the trip when he called from the front yard that something was wrong.
Just as he had made enough progress in his physical therapy that he could be discharged, he had to have the EMERGENCY eye surgery for the detached retina on the Friday before Christmas! Since he had no depth perception for about a month, I'm back to being chauffeur.

So, in answer to Matt's question...and for a variety of reasons...I am sooo much better off this year than I was at the beginning of 2007 it's not even calculable. Yes, I recently had to have surgery on my knee. BUT, that was to correct a problem and my knee will be, after the rehab, better. Plus the knee, while a weight bearing joint, isn't as major as a hip. But, the Dearly Beloved has been taking such tender, loving care of me, with nary a complaint. He deserves a blog, devoted solely to him and the excellent care he has taken of me, especially on the days I have been petulant or demanding or just plain fussy.

And...nobody close to me, personally, died this year. There were losses in my circle. I grieved for my friends who were hurting, but I didn't lose anyone myself. That was a blessing, indeed.
Another blessing was that I finally noticed just how much I have healed from the death of my Daddy, three years ago. I wrote a bit about that [and grieving in general] here and over on my other blog. I like to think I helped somebody with those blogs. If not some body who is grieving now, then someone who will the face the loss of a parent in the future. I think part of that healing is time, but I know that another part of it is due to y'all 'listening' while I vented my grief. So thanks again for being there for me. You made a difference.

I was blessed with the appearance in my life of several new persons. Some of them I've even gotten to connect with in Real Life, just like Grown Up Peeples!

LaP, you have become a treasured friend. Only JoAnne, Flo,and Az understand me like you do. New Year's was enriched by your thoughtful and beguiling presence. Your writing is always on my daily list. You have a unique style that just blows me away, whether you're gushing over shoes or eviscerating some hapless idiot who has had the misfortune to enter your cross hairs.
AD, you can move me to tears, of amusement or other, more somber emotions when I'm reading your less jocular entries. Meeting you back in September and talking to you have been highlights. Thanks for the support. I'm so very glad you have found a Lady to love who returns that love.
LawDog, even though I met you before last year, I'm including you because I got to see you in '07 and that's always a treat! A rare one, and never often enough, but I'll take it when I can get it. I hope you visit more often in '08.


A couple of Ladies who were on my blog roll but took themselves off, one for a much needed vacation from blogging, and the other due to technical difficulties, I still count among my online friends. BabsRN and Scully of the late, great Skywritings...I miss those blogs. Scully, I never thought it could be done, but I actually forgot my fear of flying when I read your stories.

Sparrow of All Atwitter, I am beginning to know from her blog and occasional letters. Her love of music is as evident as her respect and admiration for our troops. Drop by on Wednesdays to check out her weekly Haiku contest. She lets the winner designate a serviceman/woman as the recipient of a deluxe care package.

Farmgirl at Tractor Tracks is just funny as all get out! That girl can write as good as she can ride, too! You can SEE that horse balkin' and fightin' her. She's not bad behind the camera, either. Her landscape pics are hauntingly beautiful.

Dr. Chris at Made A Difference...what can you say about a man who stays in the Air Force serving his country, even when he know it means going BACK to a war zone, when he could resign his commission and make the big bucks in civilian life? He is funny, irreverent, and heartbreaking, hopeful, humble, and sweet. For a Doctor, he's a good writer. He is also already a published author. And you can feel good about buying his book since some of the proceeds go to Fisher House, a place for the families of wounded soldier's to stay when the soldier is being treated in a Military or VA hospital. He's doing his second tour in Balad, Iraq. And he answers comments, when he has time, between surgery, rounds, and sleep. Read a day or three of entries and you'll be hooked.

All of these folks, the ones I've met and the ones I'm gonna meet if they ever head my way, are one of the reasons this year is better than last year.

Another reason are my friends of long standing...since most of us are in our 50's now, I refuse to say "old friends", Doris and George, who don't have blogs, but should. They both have a ton of stories to tell. Flo, who has supported me through her own battles this year. You are one of my rocks, but you already knew that, didn't you? Dian, where would I be without you? Besides afoot and lunch-less, I mean. You are another of my anchors in this stormy sea I laughingly call my life. Thanks for being a steady influence and a loyal friend. And thanks for introducing me to Claudia!

My Family---I would be completely lost and forlorn without my family. The Dearly Beloved IS my Rock, the center, the part without which there would be no whole. My Beloved Children: Angel Baby Girl and Son. In case I haven't told you lately, I love you and in you reside my hopes for the future. My Steps: the Sons, that is. SnotNosed and his Younger Bro [for whom I have not yet determined an appropriate nickname]:you enrich my life in ways I cannot begin to describe appropriately. So I'll just say thanks for being there and All you do, big and small. My Grands: so precious and so dear. I hold you close in my heart, always. Big Bro: You stand alone, always have, always will. My Favorite Step Bro, you know which one you are...You are so much fun to be around, and I just love you and your wife and daughters so very much...I'm gonna stop now before I cry anymore.

I am so blessed by these people I have named and so many more I haven't named but who make my life brighter, merrier, easier just by doing what they do without even giving it a second thought, Thank you.