2012 - The Year of Opportunity

As 2011 draws to a close, I can't help but reflect on all of the events of the past year, and look toward all that 2012 might bring.  As always, it's been a year of ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies, loves and losses.

While we've seen our fair share of bad news in the past 12 months, as I look around at those I love and those I admire, I realize that we are luckier than most.  We have a beautiful home, my husband has a great job, our children are healthy and happy, and I'm about to embark on the adventure of graduate school.  Our burdens, by comparison of so many others, are few.  This year, I resolve to be thankful.  Every single day.  Thankful for the blessings of my life, for the love of family and friends whether or not they are still with us, and for the opportunity to do what I love.

The last few weeks have been difficult by most any standard, as we said a premature goodbye to a beautiful friend.  The wound is still raw, and our hearts are heavy as we watch her family go through the struggle of figuring out how to live without her.  What we must remember, though, is that although her absence will always be a source of pain for us, to have had her in our lives to begin with illustrates how truly blessed we were.  Every now and again, if we're very, very lucky, we have the chance to know the beauty and grace of God through His placing someone in our path that will forever change us.  To have known a person like Dianne, to have been touched by her goodness, her generosity, her laughter and her friendship, is an unmeasurable gift.  I will never forget her, and the things that she taught me will remain with me all the days of my life.  As I move forward into the next year, it will be ever-present in my mind that I, as always, hope to be the kind of woman that she was.

Albert Einstein said, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."  That's a lesson that I will take with me into the New Year.  Whatever the difficulties that you've faced during the last 12 months, let's all resolve to learn from the past, cherish every moment that we have been given, and hope for the best for not only ourselves, but for each other, in the days to come.

Love and blessings to all of you for the New Year and beyond!

Gina

We will open the book,

It's pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity,

and its first chapter is New Years Day.

-Edith Lovejoy Pierce