Goodbye 2014

How perplexing for each of us to look at an old year ending and a new one beginning. So long ago I quit writing resolutions and just wrote goals. As a matter of fact, Catherine's birth mother, Eva, would share the task with me each January 1. We'd race to see which of us could could write the ten best goals and then which of us could achieve them first. It tickled the competitive gene in me when I won. I remember the year I achieved all ten by June. Actually, boastful though I was, it was sort of a let down.
Just now I looked back at my last blog of 2013 to refresh my dwindling memory. I was just returning from a week at a motel near Stanford where I camped while Catherine endured her stem cell transplant. She survived, and has now been back to work for six rather grueling months. Nothing I could say about the year 2014 tops that.
She celebrated with not one but two birthday parties. And so I wish her all the joys that one wishes a one year old: learning to run and balance, playing with new toys, soaking in warm water, adventuring out to new places, wading in mud puddles. Oh yes, and splashing paint around.
And for my self I wish another year of somehow making my new home more "home"; continuing to thrive in this new and wonderful community; at the same time continuing to love and cherish the past.


In the last few days I've been tickled to spend parts of two days with two precious friends, Jac and Valerie. And permission has been granted for me to share the news they are planning to marry this spring in France. Eventually Valerie will rent her dear house in a village there, and move to this country to live with Jac in San Leandro (when Jac isn't leading tours of the continent.) How lucky for me. I will get to see them more often and occasionally Valerie will cook me exquisite French foods.

Here they are at Cath's birthday party posing in front of a painting I did so many years ago with Sandy.