A Letter to Last Year's Me

Dear Me (the 2012 Edition),
You will begin learning early this year.  In February, you will experience the loss of your nephew, a brave man who fought cancer as a toddler through multiple surgeries and the use of very strong drugs.  You'll experience the pain of loss as the drugs that saved the toddler and rested quietly in his body for nearly four decades, spawned angry tumors that took the life of the man.

In the spring, you'll be given the opportunity to discover that no matter your age, it is never easy to lose your mother.  That when she is gone, you will long for more time with her.

Not all lessons this year will be difficult or painful. You will marvel at the fullness of your heart watching your firstborn cross the stage holding a newly signed diploma declaring her a chemist.

For perhaps the first time you will rely on your grown children, filled with pride and wonder at the support they offer you as you grieve. 

You will take this year and order your life and home in the spirit of William Morris who taught us, "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or you believe to be beautiful." In doing so, you come to understand that there is calm in order and that every task that goes into the keeping of a home is simply a metaphor for life.

As a new year dawns, you are wiser.  You know time is fleeting, and that nothing in this world matters so much as family and home.  Hold these things close for in the end these are the things that will make 2013 a Happy New Year.


With love and acceptance,
The 2013 Model Me