I went in to 2012 doubting that I would survive it.  We had just lost Justin’s mom and spent all of Christmas closing up her apartment and moving everything into storage.  Justin was just starting his grieving and we moved blindly from day to day.  With a husband working on functioning on a day-to-day basis, we decided to put our house on the market to make the move to Kentucky.  A decision that caused us agony for the next eight months.

We made the move with one deal having fallen through and another still hanging in the balances.  I moved to a job in a middle school, leaving the best job I’d ever had in Lawrence.  We lived with my parents for almost three months, working to make new connections and get adjusted to life in a new (although familiar) place. We were nothing short of a disaster – literally and figuratively.  Our bedroom, much to my mother’s chagrin, was never clean.  Laundry was never actually put away.  Bins were stacked.  All our worldly possessions were stored in four different places around town.  And our only conversations were about real estate.  For a few months, I think we all forgot how to be nice to each other.

And then, all of a sudden, everything was OK.  We were rid of the condo in Arlington and able to move into our new home.  Justin was able to have everything under one roof and take the time he needed to sort through his mom’s belongings and fully grieve.  Despite all odds, we were able to be nice to each other again and establish new family routines and traditions. And we even started to be happy on a regular basis.

So it was with some hesitation that I watched 2012 slip into history last night.  It started as perhaps the worst year of my life.  But, 365 days later, I can tell you that I’ve never been happier.  I’ve never been more intent on living my life to its fullest and making every moment count.  Well, at least every day.  Some moments just slip you by, and that’s OK, too.