The Year In Review

So here it is, December 30, 2011. Wow. How can that be? Where does time go? How can it go so fast?

I remember when I was in the sixth grade, someone asked our teacher, Mr. Green, "Does time really go fast?". To 11 and 12 year old kids, it doesn't seem like it. But, we always heard grown-ups saying things like that, so, who better to ask than our teacher? Mr. Green responded, "It sure does! And the older you get, the faster it seems to go!" Hmmm. There are 24 hours in a day, that never changes, and 7 days in a week, that, too, stays the same. Why do they say that?

I now know the answer to that question 46 years later. We fill our days rushing here and there, doing this and that, rarely slowing down to see the beauty surrounding us, or notice the people by our side. We are always in a hurry to get somewhere, and forget to enjoy the journey to where we're going. I'm very guilty of that.

Why are we in such a hurry? I wish I had the answer to that! I'm one of those people that are usually early everywhere I go, mostly because I'm afraid of being late. So, I rush to get somewhere, then have to sit and wait because I'm way too early. Duh.

In April, my husband, Dennis, finally retired from working. Yay! I quit working over two years ago due to health problems, so it's been so nice having him home with me. Even if we're just sitting in the living room watching television together, we ARE together, and it's very comfortable. It's been a big change, but one we have gotten used to with no problem at all.

The end of May we actually began our retirement journey together. We loaded up our fifth wheel, and headed to Florida for two months. It took us about a minute to decide we really liked it, too! By the end of that two months, I was more than ready to head back to Ohio to be with my kids, grandkids, sisters, my lovely mother, and many nieces and nephews. Not to mention some very dear friends! We had 3 months to get some things done around the house and visit with our family. Nice.

Then, the end of October, as the leaves were beginning to fall, the brilliant colors just about gone, we headed back to Florida and our fifth wheel to begin our first trip as "Snowbirds". That's something we had looked forward to for many years. We spent about 5 weeks there enjoying the warm weather, and meeting new friends. It really seemed strange to put Christmas lights on palm trees on Thanksgiving day, wearing short sleeved shirts and sandals, in 80 degree weather. That was a first for both of us.

On December 5th, we loaded up the truck, and headed back to gray, cold Ohio to spend the Christmas holidays with our family. We had a wonderful Christmas too! Lots of family time, good food, good friends and good memories to carry with us.

Now, it's almost time to go back to sunny Florida to spend the rest of our winter in, hopefully, warmer weather. I have very mixed emotions about it. Those of you who know me well, know how close I am to my family. I need to see them at least every week, some more often than that. And it's really hard for me to be so far away from them for so long. This trip coming up will be my longest away from them ever. I'm still not sure how I'll handle it, only time will tell.

However, as I've learned, time really does go fast, so as long as everyone stays healthy, Lord willing, I'll be back with everyone in the Spring when the blossoms are just peeking out, and the breezes just begin to blow warm again. I love the Springtime. It's a new beginning, a rebirth, Gods way of showing us everything old is new again. Maybe in a small way, showing us what it will be like in Heaven, on a much grander scale, of course.

So, I hope your 2011 has been a good one, and I pray your 2012 will be even better. Slow down when you can and enjoy everything around you. We really never know when will be the last time we see someone, can do something, can go somewhere. Don't take these blessings for granted, ever. I'm going to try to live these words every second of every day. Because, as we know, time really does fly!

Happy New Year!!!!