This has been a different year end for me. I came down with pneumonia the week before Christmas, and went north on lots of medications. I spent a wonderful, albeit low key week with family (of which I include the few lunch dates I had with dear girlfriends), the family gathering at mom's on Christmas Eve, and my mom's birthday celebration at olive garden on the 29th. The drives there and back were easy, made in 10 hours each way, and Reimond did a wonderful job helping me with the driving, so I didn't do it all on my own.
I feel very blessed that I was able to meet up with one of my "kids" from the past and meet her beautiful little boy, and it was so nice to see how life has gone for her. She is an amazing woman and mother, and I am so proud of her. Hopefully this was just the first of many visits over the coming years.
I was saddened to learn that my best friend for the last 38 or so years lost her mother unexpectedly while I was in Mn and I was unaware of that tragedy until after I got home. The funeral is going to be on Saturday and I won't be able to be up there for it, although my heart will be with her. Ann is an only child now (her younger brother died of leukemia when he was a boy) and I was the "little sister" throughout out junior and senior high school years. My heart is full of memories of all the time spent at her parents house and while I grieve her passing, I take comfort knowing she is with her husband and son, and that Ann honored her mom's wishes of no heroic measures, despite how hard a decision that is to honor. I also heard on Facebook that someone I knew fairly well in my younger years lost her mother unexpectedly on the first, and it makes me so grateful I had Christmas week with my mom, and that my in-laws will be here this weekend. One never knows when things will change, and we have to treasure the opportunities we have!
I saw the doctor today again and while the pneumonia is now gone, it was apparently move severe than I had known at the time, a fast moving infiltrate that was possibly the result of a "lung injury" although I have no clue what would have caused it. Anyhow, my bronchial tubes are hyper reactive right now, and I have been put on steroids, cough medicine pills (to ease both the coughing and the pain), and regular use of the inhaler until things ease. I just want the coughing to go away because I am so tired of the stress on my body, of my muscles aching and the puking. I am so ready to feel better and have my life and energy back.
The kids are all doing fine and we had a really nice family Christmas on New Year's Eve. We may have Skye here this weekend as it sounds like it may be a drill weekend for Brie and that will be fun. Now that she isn't living here, I appreciate the times we have her so much more. She makes me laugh and she gives me such joy watching her grow and learn and change.
I haven't made many New Years resolutions, but rather intend to continue as I have begun: tracking my points and trying to eat healthy, staying active, keeping up on projects and chores, and focusing on my relationships. I chose to end a longstanding friendship just before Christmas, and while it hurts to not have this person in my life any more, it was necessary. The friendship was becoming toxic and it hurt so badly to be always told what a terrible friend I was, how selfish and self entered I apparently am, and how inconsiderate I am. I tried so hard to be positive, supportive, and encouraging, but often felt helpless in the face of all that was going on in this persons life, especially when nothing I suggested or offered was good enough. Needless to say there is a hole now in my heart, and while I keep this person in my prayers and want only the best for the future, I honestly have to say I don't miss the guilt trips or the derision I often has to deal with over the past 5 years, about the same length of time I have been involved with Eric. I will treasure my memories of the good times, and let go of the painful ones, and perhaps, in time, things can change again for the better.
I am going to try to eat something light before I take my last dose of prednisone. I am having a similar problem taking it that Reimond has--it upsets my stomach and doesn't want to stay put... Blech! Then, I am hoping for an early night tonight.
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