2011

2011 concludes tonight and with it another year of life and the living of it, not only for us here in this quiet corner but for the larger collective humanity across the globe.

This year, we cheered and watched in respectful fascination the revolutionary zeal of the Arab Spring as it spread across the Middle East. This revolution of change, ushered in by the people who longed lived with dictators and despotism gave rise to the Occupy movement here in our own country, with the 99 percent calling attention to a dramatic inequality of distribution of wealth. 

We also watched aghast and aggrieved by the images of Japan, rocked and swept away by the force of a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.  We lost the visionary Steve Jobs and the notorious Osama Bin Laden.  We ended a decade of war in Iraq.

Here on this homefront, we rejoiced in a new home for one offspring and a new baby for another.  I marked the end of five years of cancer treatment. We celebrated a career recognizing award for Jim and our 40^th wedding anniversary.  In 2011, we also endured tests and trials, both small and large. Jim had shoulder surgery, and I wrestled some bouts with a too zealous heartbeat.  Penn State was shaken to its core by scandal; while truth and justice remain elusive, the loss of innocence for the many who bleed blue and white still feels devastating.

We relished a trip to Hilton Head, Sunset Beach, time spent with family and friends, our evening bike rides, a spotting of a bear, a witnessing of a sunset, and the blessing of times of peaceful meditation and moments of unexpected joy

We welcomed baby James and baby Liam. We said hello to my retirement and goodbye to some dear friends—Eleanor, John, and Ed. 

365 days of living, breathing, watching, praying, and participating in this journey we take by grace, step-by-step and day-by-day.  Now we turn the page to a brand new year…