Wednesday, December 10, 2014

December 10 Revisited

Three years ago today I posted this (below) on my original blog.    How in the world was I to know what the next three years would bring?  I couldn't possibly, and so, I promised myself to carry on with an open mind and open heart.  It served me well on a day to day basis and in the long term.  Just one year ago I was first falling in love with a dear friend.  Now, a year later, we are married and living in a new town.  As close friends will attest, I swore I'd never marry again.  Been there.  Done that.  Ha.

I think I'd still be happy as a single woman.  Life is good, either way.  But being with my husband, who, in many ways, is very much like me, makes experiencing life that much more fun.  I have, against all odds, found a mature and honest relationship that sustains me and brings out the best in me.

The message is: you never know what the future holds.  Carry on.  Celebrate the goodness in your life, and be open to the unexpected. 

Fiat Lux

I experience this emotional clash each year during the holidays, starting with Halloween and ending with Valentine's day. So much hype and expectation for fun, frivolity and fellowship. I'm feeling the love this year, and enjoying the holidays with friends and family, and generally not getting caught up in the excess.

However, I am also acutely aware, how many people are struggling. It may be financial or emotional, or mental. It's the worst time of year to be in the pits of despair, because dammit, you're supposed to be HAPPY and you're supposed to CELEBRATE.


This year is my first Christmas in a decade I will not be with my wife. I've already passed the first Thanksgiving, and I sailed through that happily with my family. Though she was never a huge fan of Christmas, it is nevertheless odd not have her around during the holidays. I know a few other folks who are experiencing their first post-separation/divorce holiday season and my heart goes out to them. If we all lived in the same town, I would say "Come on over!" and we could hold each other up and toast to our new adventures in life.

As this calendar year ends and a new one soon begins, it sets me to wondering what lies ahead. What will I being doing next December? And the following? And...? I cannot know. But I'm okay with that. I don't need to know. As read on Mountain Musings this morning, "Seneca the Younger said it well:  'Expecting is the greatest impediment to living. In anticipation of tomorrow it loses today.'"

3 comments:

  1. Love this. Think positive, don't try to anticipate and be open to what comes along. Great advice and great you lived it that way.

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  2. It brings your friends happiness to see that after that agonizing journey great joy has arrived and a new life begun.

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  3. Wonderful post. We all need to be reminded that at times things looked rather bleak. But we are in a better place now because of it.

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