On endings and new beginnings

I have been cleaning in my house today. We are switching cable/internet/phone companies and I have too many boxes of papers in the affected rooms. (There may or may not have been a crazy person announcing that the place looks great- we should change cable companies every month! That crazy person would not have been me this time, if it actually happened.)  So I came upon a scrapbook my friends up in the Albany area made me when we moved down to Long Island almost 20 years ago. Of course I had to stop all of my work and read through it. It saddened me because each of the families represented by a note or recipe or letter used to occupy such an important place in my life. I am only occasionally in contact with one of the five or six families who wrote such amazing things to send us off. And I had added pictures from the home group I was I after that. And I am not in touch, except through Facebook, with any of them. It's heartbreaking to me. I am honored that my friends didn't raise a fuss and tell me not to go. They all were encouraging to both my husband and myself.

 I have recently had a close friend move away. Although I was saddened by the loss I would incur from them leaving, I knew it was a final decision and I encouraged them with my whole heart. And you know what? My friend leaving allowed me to feel and process through a lot of issues I had been avoiding dealing with for years. They haven't been gone a full year yet- but I feel if they showed up today it would be obvious by my actions and my attitudes that I have grown immeasurably in their absence. It is obvious to me that much of that growth was actually caused by their absence. Sometimes what looks like an ending is actually a new beginning. You do know that every beginning comes from an ending, right?

So today I was musing about endings and beginnings. My eldest child takes the SAT's this weekend- he will graduate from High School in June. It is a bittersweet time. He has done amazingly well this year in school- grown so much  in his 4 years at the High School- but the future is a big question mark. We have no idea what he will be doing in the future. 

Anyway- it is an ending and a beginning all over again. 

So- are you embracing a new beginning or are you mourning the ending? The choice is yours- there isn't a wrong answer. I would like to encourage you to jump right in and embrace your life- because the ending doesn't mean time stops.

Happy "You Can't Get Rid Of Me That Easily" Day!!!

Hi Everyone!

Today marks the second anniversary of my admittance to the hospital with DKA and pancreatitis. It was serious but my God and the doctors prevailed. Since I can't help but remember my trials of this day, I decided to make it into a holiday to remind me of how blessed I am to still be alive. (Other name choices were 'glad I'm still here' and 'glad I didn't die' but I think this one is much better.)

So I was thinking of what I have been blessed with and I came up with a short list (and it really is short but encompasses so much!)

1) a closer relationship with my God

2)a closer relationship with many people in my life and with new people

3) the ability to draw a picture for someone and just give it away because I know there is a message in it that they won't get otherwise.

4) I started painting for the first time in  almost 30 years and people have purchased some of them! (Yeah still blows my mind that people want to buy my paintings but they see something they like there. Again it must be the message imbedded into the painting.)

5) I have two amazing boys and an amazing husband whom I have spent many treasured moments with!

6) my attitude in general of life has changed. In short, although I still stress over decisions, I tend to stretch myself more than I stay in a safe place. Not all the time but the percentage is greater.

See- a short list! 

Thank you all for accompanying me in my journey- can't wait I see where it will take me next!

Until next time-

Cindy