Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Creating the new normal

2012. I like it! The number 2012 is a lot easier to write then 2011. And this is going to be an unusual, but very hopeful year for me.  

One year ago, on January 1, 2011,  I was dreading the New Year. Both of my parents were very ill and I knew that 2011 wasn't going to be fun for them or me or my siblings. I was right. It was a very difficult year. Both parents passed away -- three weeks apart in January and February. 

The rest of the year was an attempt to recover from sadness. The holidays were going to prove to be a challenge. Until this year, I had spent every Christmas day with my parents. And so my brother, sister and I decided to do something very un-ordinary for Christmas because we knew it was time to create our new normal. My entire family took a Caribbean cruise. It was crazy fun -- our parents would have loved it (they loved fun and travel). It was different -- we decided to draw names and bring only one gift aboard. But mostly, it was memorable. 

We will always miss our mom and dad, but doing something they loved helped us bring them along while experiencing the new normal. For you who read this, Happy New Year! To my brother, sister and the rest of the family, Happy New Normal. We survived one year.  

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