Carol's Journal: Happy New Year

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2010 2:48 AM, CST

It was obvious it would be a New Years Eve spent at home. No dancing for this lady in her wheel chair. My daughter had brought over the luminarios she had decorated with shiny beads and hearts for our anniversary party, little white bags sparkling with candles placed inside adding to the glow of our living room's fireplace and Christmas tree lights.

We had watched a few of our usual TV shows, checked on the progress of people celebrating in Times Square, and I said I had to lie down for a few minutes but not to let me go to sleep. I could hear the music, the New York Symphony playing American in Paris. Tom kissed me wide awake and asked if I heard the music. I said I did, and he said I had to wake up and see it.

And so I did: the horns that the musicians must have spent days polishing, the immaculate tuxes and gorgeous holiday dresses, a conductor so wrapped up in the music he had no reason to look at the score on the stand before him.

The orchestra was made up of at least sixty musicians playing every instrument possible with the TV cameras focusing in on each one as they had a solo part, and the dramatic ending as the traffic sounds of Paris ended in celebration with a smile on the conductor's face expressing his pleasure in what everyone had just experienced, a piece of music written long ago by a composer only thirty years old at the time, but treasured by many for ages.

And so I want to wish you all a Happy New Year even if we cannot dance, but when we can feel the music all around us and within our hearts and souls, together with those we love in both our elegant concert halls and glowing living rooms.

Love, Carol

Wishing you a pain-free New Year surrounded by those you love.

In review of 2009, it was rather a miraculous year. I never thought I' be able to walk, but with physical therapy even accomplished getting upstairs and getting around without the rolator or even a cane. We spent a month in Hilton Head in south Carolina, had over 50 people visit our cabin up north, visited my daughter in Virginia, went to my husband's 50th college reunion, went to Texas and New Mexico where we visited family we hadn't seen in years. And we fell in love once again and had a great anniversary party.

Not bad when someone has stage four cancer. Can I ask for more? Well I can, but gratitude is there in abundance as well as hope I can give encouragement and hope to others.

Love, Carol

And all of us have loads of hope for you to have another good one through 2010.

Ann

I guess I was working on a "bucket list." It is amazing what can happen. Fear was the greatest I had to deal with and still deal with the fear of pain which comes and goes and where I need to be courageous, I think.

I'm learning. I read a little book about not looking for your purpose in life, because it will find you. Writing about what is happening has found me.

Carol

Carol Troestler wrote:

Writing about what is happening has found me.

Carol

And it's very good. I find your posts on this subject engaging, articulate, and thought-provoking, far more than the excerpts you used to post from the Cuba book. This is a subject you know, live, and authoritatively speak about. I honestly think a journal of these thoughts, organized, with a theme -a start, middle and beginning- would have a shot at commercial publication. Maybe to one of those healing-theme pubs, like HCI Books.

LC, Thank you. Your remarks mean a lot to me.

Carol

What LC said.

Ann