Reflections on 2013

            2013 has been quite the year. I experienced the greatest loss of my life in May when my son, Alex, passed away and no other emotion during the year comes close to the sadness that accompanied that. However, as difficult as it is sometimes to clear my head of the grief that wants to set up camp there, I realize that life does carry on despite the setbacks.

            I was reminded in 2013 about love, about that unconditional love that some people may not even know they possess. It takes a crisis, I suppose, to pull it out of us. I have heard folks say that unconditional love is nonsense, but I disagree. It’s real. I’ve felt it. It’s fraught with intention and fight. “You never give up on the people you love,” I’ve said time and again. In my life, that’s a fact.

            I was reminded in 2013 about caring, that fickle feeling that escapes us sometimes and at other moments consumes us without our even thinking about it. My husband, though very discriminating, has the ability to care more deeply than just about anyone else I know. I like that.

            I was reminded in 2013 about friendship. I have remarkable friends, some old, a few new, and all invaluable to me. True friends have another’s back no matter what. I have been given the gift of friendship this year over and over. Thank you, my friends. You know who you are.

            I was reminded in 2013 about the diversity of family. It’s not unreasonable to mention that some family members can disappoint, disregard, or frustrate even the most stalwart among us. Stirring the proverbial pot seems to give a few of them pleasure. Fortunately though the antithesis exists. Family can provide such warmth, affection, joy, and happiness I want to dance and sing! I love my family.

            I was reminded in 2013 about the importance of tolerance. The world in which we live is so diverse and so disparate it is amazing it still is spinning on an even keel. Acceptance is not always easy; and it might take real courage, but it’s worth it. It helps to listen; it helps to communicate; it helps to step back and say, “It’s not all about what I think,” because, guess what? It’s not.

            Today is the last day of 2013. It has been a year to remember.