Monday, September 21, 2015

A New Decade Arrives!

Birthday Celebration Began With A Slumber Party! - July 30, 2015
(Don't ALL 60th birthday celebrations include a slumber party?)
 
This post, more than any other, reflects how woefully behind I am with the blog.  But I keep plugging away because it is important to me and looking back at past posts (more on this later), I came to realize how thankful I am to have been writing the blog for the past five years and now having access to the events it has documented and the thoughts I have expressed.

My end of July birthday came and went ushering in a new decade for me with no apologies whatsoever.   Can’t say that I really even cared that it was my 60th birthday.  Mostly, I just cared that the person with whom I’d celebrated the previous 40 birthdays  was not here to make me laugh and remind me I wasn’t getting older, just better! 

My amazing friends had some very definite ideas about how I should celebrate and in the end, I could not have asked for a better day given the circumstances.  Without exception, anyone wanting to help me celebrate ASKED me in advance what I did or did not want.  The only thing I requested was no large crowds and no surprises.  The entire week was peaceful and full of the celebration of another year of life, yet always deeply respectful of my feelings and my grief.  I could not have asked for more love and kindness.  I am so grateful.

So what are my plans for this year of my life?  To put it simply, with every fiber of my being, I hope to continue working through the grief of no longer having Bill by my side in a healthy and mature way.  I want to return to a concentrated focus on my health as many aspects of caring for myself have been forced into the background and it is catching up with me.  I am not happy about that and plan to turn it around quickly.  It is impossible to explain, but I see the world and other people through totally different eyes now and it has changed the way I view most everything.  As a result, the things I consider high priority have changed and the way I spend my time has changed.

For sure, it will be a year of adjustment and coming to terms with life in a way I never anticipated.  Looking back at my “birthday” posts from 2014 (read it here) and 2013 (here), I am once again reminded and can’t end this post without reminding you that things can change very, very quickly.   I am so thankful that Bill and I never approached our lives thinking something might happen to one or the other of us, but neither did we ever put things off with the idea that we had forever.  We lived fully, loved deeply and laughed constantly!  Please, please don’t take the opportunity to do that NOW for granted.  I can still hear his laugh as clearly as if I’d heard it yesterday and I have literally hundreds of pictures to remind me how much fun we had loving and living life!  Through my tears, I can always find a reason to smile. 

We were out on a September afternoon drive - see anything unusual?
September, 2014


13 comments:

  1. So glad to hear you so positive Sharon; it gives me hope that we'll get there too. You're certainly right about life changing fast, and priorities changing with it. We head for Alberta and BC soon for two more memorial services for Will. Think of you frequently; have strength.

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  2. Happy birthday! Great message for living life to the fullest.

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  3. Glad to see a post from you... I miss you!!!! Yes---none of us need to EVER take life for granted. There are NO promises and because each day is so special, we need to live it to our fullest... I hope that I'm never in the position that you have been placed in (living without the love of your life)--but I hope and pray that IF I AM I will be able to handle things as positively as you have. May God Bless You, Sweet Sharon.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  4. You are getting better. It takes a lot of time to grieve a love so deep. Don't rush it (as silly as that sounds). You will get through it.
    Lori

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  5. I'm so happy you have such wonderful and sensitive friends to be with you on this first birthday in your very changed life. Your outlook on it all is really an inspiration to anyone going down your same path or knowing that they will be in a short time.

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  6. Wonderful to have such supportive friends to give you exactly what you need!

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  7. Happy belated birthday, Sharon!

    It took me quite a while to find Bill in that picture!

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  8. Happy Birthday, Sharon! And welcome to a wonderful decade. It sounds like it was a wonderful week and enjoyed by you and your friends. I am glad you are working through your grief. I am not sure I could do it in a "mature" way at all. You are quite right, we can not take anything for granted because we never know what the near future holds. I am sure your upbeat moments go up and down. Stay strong.

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  9. Just now saw this, Sharon. I'm glad you were so well supported on your birthday, and that your friends were smart enough to ask you what you would be comfortable with. You are so lucky to have so many great friends.

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  10. I'm not sure why but somehow I have been missing your blog updates and missed your sad news. Today I was thinking about you and came looking for your blog. I can't tell you how sorry I am that your partner is not here to celebrate with you. I moved into a new decade this past July too. Reading your comments reminds me, again, that I need to be more faithful with writing in my own blog. It IS good to be able to look back and remember. It is good to hear that you have supportive friends. It is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada and I am thankful to have you as an internet friend. I am sending hugs across the miles.

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  11. I had to look twice to see the person in the photo. How good your friends are treating you tenderly in these hard moments. Your spirit is shining, take care of yourself.

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