Greetings!

Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m glad 2009 is over. Happy New Year! Of course it’s a bittersweet time, but I am returning to my hopeful outlook on things. Of course, I miss Bobbi something fierce, but I have so much to do! I have to learn to channel that into something positive.

Actually, thinking about Bobbi has been a comfort. I wasn’t Bobbi’s first husband, and in between the first one and myself there was a fellow she was in love with who was… shall we say “a less than positive influence” on her. I’d like to think I helped her family rescue her from that fellow. I was also thinking about my mom and dad, and Bobbi’s dad and my cousin Hugh and all my aunts and uncles who have also gone on. I hope I never get used to those passings, but rather be more at peace with them. It is a part of life, isn’t it? None of those I loved who are gone chose to go- they were taken. That they are better off now than in the grip of the suffering they had to endure can not be denied, and who knows when I too will make that journey.

The old ones say each life is like a stick- they are never exactly alike or the same length. Rather than ask why some lives are short it is better to make sure that the life is well lived. They also say to allow two months for grieving, then get on with life. If I were a more traditional Cherokee man I’d have to say the last eight months were pretty self-indulgent. Of course it’s not a hard and fast rule, but life does go on. What would Bobbi do? What she always did, of course- put on her game face and make the best of it. There’s my lesson. To be a better man I have to be more like my sweet wife. Go figure…..

So, beloved, there’s a lesson for us all. I suspect some of you already learned this one. Maybe, like myself, you relearn it from time to time. Of course the tears will still come, but now there are more smiles than tears. I suspect the trend will continue. What to do with the time that’s left? Just do what Bobbi would.

May you have a joyous new year. May 2010 and every year after be filled with love, long life and happiness. I’ll keep you posted.