The Gift of a New Year | Happy 2019

Welcome to 2019! Recent events have reminded me vividly that each moment is a blessing to be treasured. Even change, challenges, and heartache are part of the fabric of life. This new year, this day, this very moment is a gift.

Catch Up Chit Chat

I’ve been quiet on the blog for the month of December. It’s been a big month over here! We spent the end of November traveling to visit family in two different states…and welcoming a new granddaughter. Woo hoo! This makes two new grandbabies in 2018!

December Fun

Of course, we spent much of December preparing for Christmas with cooking, shopping, and festivity. I kept shopping to a minimum this year, focusing on experience gifts and small carefully selected tokens of love.

Not All Fun and Games

The week before Christmas, life took an unexpected and frightening turn when my fifty-seven year old husband suffered a major heart attack. As they prepped him for emergency heart catheterization, my mind was in a whirl of fears for the future and grief for the heartbreaks of life.

It was a scary few days. Every single test kept coming back normal, although Joe continued to have chest pain and his troponin levels continued to rise (troponin is an indicator that a cardiac event is taking place). Finally, after thirty-eight hours, a second cardiologist rushed Joe back into the Cath Lab, where he located a large–and mysteriously hidden–blockage. My husband’s hidden blockage will be the subject of a presentation at a Cardiology Conference soon. Perhaps not the best way to become famous.

We saw evidence of answered prayer when the cardiologist assured us that he found surprisingly minimal heart damage for such a major cardiac event. My husband immediately began to feel better the moment the blockage was broken up and stented, and has made an amazing recovery.

I’m thankful and overwhelmed…really, all the feelings. So many emotions.

I will write more about this event in the future, but I’m currently still processing it all and pondering…everything.

All’s Quiet on the Blog?

So that’s why I’ve been quiet the past few weeks. I’ve been pondering these things in my heart, processing, pausing. There have been other large life changes in these weeks, things which are not currently my story to tell. The time will come. But much has changed, and my emotions are running amuck and basically requiring constant supervision.

Savoring Every Moment

As my emotions are ricocheting about in a most alarming manner, I’m purposely, purposefully, intentionally savoring every normal, everyday, unremarkable moment. I’m focusing on loving my people well, and taking care of my husband and myself. I’m embracing the living of life…those unremarkable, mundane moments that make up the majority of our days.

We’re enjoying long walks with the dog and appreciating the beauties of Creation. Even on grey and drizzly days, there is abundant beauty and wonder to be found when we open our eyes to it.

We’re savoring our moments together, enjoying a date night at the movies. Mary Poppins Returns is a winner in my book! A lovely addition to the original.

We continue to hold close those who are dear to us. The traditional family New Year’s Eve party was a smashing hit. I received a new party game for Christmas called Double Ditto, and it is a hoot! I highly recommend it. The prompt for the first square was “Cities on the East Coast”. As you can see, this player is directionally challenged…and has her score card upside down. I will refrain from publicly announcing the owner of this card, but it wasn’t me! All family members will immediately identify the other geographically challenged family member!

Savor the Gift of the New Year

I actually have so much to share: a Word of the Year, Verse of the Year, Goals, Favorite Books, Favorite Posts of 2018…and it will come soon. For the next few weeks I’ll be savoring the moments with three of my beautiful grandchildren as I visit them for a couple weeks in the Pacific Northwest while their parents are going on a cruise. I’m not sure if I’ll be writing blog posts, but follow me on my Facebook Page and Instagram for frequent updates.

In the meantime, be thinking about your goals and plans for 2019, because we’ll be chatting about that soon and I’d love some interaction! I’d love to hear about your reading and creating and traveling and being and becoming. Last year I talked about choosing a Word of the Year…here’s that post if you’re interested.