Good Morning 2007

“Stop dreaming and you have nothing left, just your hand to wipe away the tears.” ~Lila Says (movie)


2006 was a year of extremes for Blue, my brother Rob, and I. Our highs were high and our lows were… well darn pretty low. Changing out calendars the other day, I was absolutely amazed by just how much happened in this past year… Flipping through my old calendar, I saw how we started it with an emergency trip to the local hospital with Rob 2 days into the New Year. Rob at that time, had just come back from Iraq, after fulfilling his 4 years to the US Marine Corps in Nov. 2005 and was living with us as he decompressed and transitioned into the very next chapter of his life. What we did not know about Rob and many others that serve in this war, is the extra baggage that stows away in their sea bags… a nasty little gift for their time served called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). And in my brother’s case it was severe, so severe that it sent us to the hospital last Jan. 2nd and several more times in the month of January. We were living in Parkersburg, WV at the time and had to commute 1 ½ each way to Clarksburg 3 -4 times a week in the winter weather, for anything non emergency… usually a series of tests as my poor brother… who was physically sicker that I had ever seen him, was poked and prodded by the doctors at the VA hospital as they ruled out everything from seizures, to cancer, to exposure to biological warfare agents… Yes, his symptoms were that varied…

Mine and Blue’s whole life stopped as we spent endless nights researching the VA system, the tests he was scheduled for, the diagnosis that was being ruled out at the time, and comforting my brother who was waking up with the most horrible nightmares, so bad that he would faint, display seizure like activity and black out after them. Once again we would be rushing to the hospital… and poor Rob would lose 24 hours of his life following the black out… the days that followed were pretty fuzzy too… Our trips to Clarksburg turned into 2 ½ hr drives each way to Pittsburg as his condition became more severe and our local Parkersburg hospital was no longer equipped for the symptoms we were seeing. I don’t believe I have ever felt more scared in my entire life… and the responsibility of it all was crushing at times. Blue and I wanted him better and we were tenacious when it came to his care. The thought that we could fail him drove us in high gear through most of the winter. Thankfully the Pittsburg, VA hospital was able to help us, and with every physical condition in the world ruled out, we all focused on PTSD, the extreme case my brother had, and what it was going to take to triumph over it… I suppose this is where all of our winter and early spring went…

My brother worked harder that he has probably ever worked in his life and we saw him improve rapidly… Blue and I are still fiercely proud of Rob and how hard he worked to turn it all around… (Today, you would never know the personal hell we all went through, just one year ago...) Around this time, the local economy in Parkersburg was starting to take a severe nose dive… and we planned to relocate to Ohio where there were far more jobs and opportunities… So, spring kept us busy packing and preparing for a fresh start and all of the excitement and utter chaos it brings. To give me a much needed break, Blue flew me out to Vegas where he was working for 2 weeks. That trip was amazing and it really helped Blue and I recharge and decompress a bit. I hiked in the desert as much as I could, the sun reviving my exhausted soul and weary spirit... I will never forget the beauty of it all. Not much survives in the desert, but the things that do are just so beautiful that it almost hurts your eyes to look at them.
So much to do on the strip… but in all honesty it was the barrenness of the desert we craved… maybe because it mirrored how empty and drained we had felt after that terrible winter with my brother.

Summer came, we moved, and it sucked every bit as much as moving does… There is something tragic and disheartening about seeing all you have accumulated in this world reduced to stacks of ugly brown boxes… I was glad when it was over and we had all adjusted… But after months of running on high gear, I just started to feel as if I was going to crash… I suppose it was around this time that I found the Parlor and it truly became the place I went to heal, a place that slowly helped nurture my soul as I began to pick up the discarded pieces of my own life that had been put on hold and the resolutions that never saw the light of day. With complete awe and wonder I watched as all of 2006 completely turned around for us.

The Parlor and the people here will always hold a special place in my heart for this… You all met me on the start of the upswing of it all and I know in my heart that it was many of the things that were shared here that helped me savor it more then I could ever express…

Saying goodbye to 2006 is bitter sweet for me, it started off as one of the darkest nights my soul has ever seen and has ended with the most beautiful dawn I have ever witnessed in my life… Such an honor and privilege to be able to share it with you all…

This morning 2007 greets me as I look off into the horizon, the sun is starting to make its climb into the sky and the haze is beginning to burn off. I can already see that it is going to be stunning and my heart aches from its beauty. I have only an inkling of the adventures in store but my heart, mind, and body are ready for them all…

And because it would not seem like a new year if I did not start it with some resolutions, here are mine…




*To better manage my time… the down time these last 2 seasons has been very good for me/us and much needed. But, I can sense that it is time to “make the bed” and get moving, so I do not miss all that this particular “day” has in store for me…

*Doing whatever it takes to get my website officially up and running, so it may better serve and aid those it supports.

And…

*To only allow myself 5 passions or hobbies simmering on the stove at anytime… There is so much that I want to do/learn, but I am finding that I am not very productive with any of them if my mind is just too scattered to truly focus on them. I may change them a bit through out the year as one replaces the other, but I will try to focus only on the ones there at the moment…

As I begin January, here is what is currently simmering on my stove in no particular order:

1. Needlework (Embroidery, Appliqué, Felting,)
2. Seasonal Craft Project of the moment
3. Fitness/Self
4. Reading/Soul
5. Photography/Lomography


So hard to limit myself to just 5, so here is my future file, a collection of hobbies/passions that I look forward to exploring in the future…

Drawing, Oil Painting, Soap Making, Canning, Gardening, Knitting, Quilting, Tennis, Mosaics, Stain Glass, Culinary Techniques, Yoga, Pilate's, Beading, Candle making, and the many other ideas that cross my radar this year…