Netta recently posted the first sentences of each month of her 2006 posts. I hope that made sense. As always, her post was very clever. I’ve decided to mimic her idea, but instead, am posting the first paragraphs of each month. I discovered the arc of my first paragraphs very revealing of my year. Most of you will see it, too.

I’m sorry I haven’t posted much lately. I’ve been more in the mood to read your posts and to make comments. Truth is, I’ve had little to write about. I’d bore you to death with my despair – not only am I coping with a broken heart, my body is also broken. I know both will eventually repair, but I’m a little bit out of sorts regarding the broken body issue and one *rant* is enough.

***************************************************************


*FLASH* *GOOD NEWS #1*
On December 20th I depart for an exotic vacation with my youngest son. I can’t wait! Thank God the itinerary isn’t a trek in Sri Lanka. Our destination is tropical – if my back isn’t healed, I can be propped up in a lounge chair with an umbrella drink.

For a few weeks I gulped down powerful painkillers. They were wonderful. I’ve reserved about six of them to take on the trip. The doctor won’t prescribe a refill because they are too powerful and potentially addictive, and for petie-pies-sake, I don’t need that problem, too. As much as I hurt, I respect the doctor’s decision and am managing with Advil.

Yesterday a new ache surfaced. (Oops, I guess that isn't good news.) Because of my slipped disk, I’ve altered my gait, which has put excessive strain on my hip replacement – I can feel the strain. So, I’m now trying to walk as normal as possible. Hahahahaha.

*FLASH* *GOOD NEWS #2*
This is odd good news, but Christmas is a little invisible for me this year. Nary a strand of tinsel decks my halls. Can’t deal with it. It’s kinda “outta sight, outta mind.” I did yank my son’s stocking from storage and have filled it with things I bought several months ago. I’ll throw it in my suitcase and surprise him Christmas morning.

*FLASH* *GOOD NEWS #3*
My good pal, Carol, is flying down from Rhode Island on the 30th to spend New Year’s Eve with me. w00t w00t!

*FLASH* *GOOD NEWS #4*
For all my angst and suffering at the moment, I am happier beyond my wildest dreams. I love the mountain – it’s my refuge. Its beauty and serenity are a balm, which nudges all despair out of my heart and fills it with hope. Each day is an adventure, especially with Mother Nature. This morning I awoke to glorious sunshine – within a fifteen-minute period, an artic freeze descended on the mountain and it is now snowing! There’s glory in that, too.

I recently wrote that I am like moss: I am soft and grow in dark places. This is true for all of us, I suspect. Of great importance, my friends, my family at JS succor my sorrows with remarkable kindness and love.

Anyway, here’s a recap of 2006:

January:
Tap, tap, tap. (That’s me finger-flicking the Blogosphere’s microphone, making sure I’ve made contact.) Mi-mi-mi. (That’s me tuning up my voice. I hope it always sounds clear and true.) Bark, bark, bark. (That’s not me. Jessie-Dog wants to be fed.)


February:
We have a new dog. Well, kinda-sorta. We adopted Jessie four years ago when she was 2½, so it was guessed. She had been transferred from a Los Angeles shelter (a misnomer) where she was on death row, to one in Santa Ana where she was on death row, to finally, Laguna Beach where there is no death row. Every stop along the way, an angel granted her a pardon.

March:
I vaguely remember the times of roses, champagne, intimate dinners and rodeo sex. Those times were followed by lulls in romance after children invaded my life like Hessians. But I wouldn’t change a moment.

April:
Well, today is April Fool’s Day, and it just doesn’t have the same punch for me as when the kids were home.

May:
MAY DAY! MAY DAY! False alarm. No cause for concern. It’s just that it’s May Day!

June:
Okay, so I got soppy and sentimental about the baby finches leaving me with an empty nest. Since my last post, the neighborhood’s gone to the dogs, er, I mean birds.

July:
Okay. Over the years I’ve subscribed and unsubscribed to many magazines. I got too old for “Seventeen,” was never narcissistic enough for “Glamour,” and never hip enough for “Cosmo.” I became depressed reading “Time” and “Newsweek,” while “Good Housekeeping” made me feel inadequate. I do remember sneaking peeks at my father’s “Playboys,” but then went to college and never returned home. I got sucked into all the false hopes of “Writer’s Digest,” and added its subscription cost to my tax filings as a business loss. I love “Cigar Aficionado,” but don’t like cigars and can’t afford the products they advertise. And how many of you have 20 storage boxes with “National Geographic?”

August:
Okay, all right, back off! I know I’ve been MIA. I’ve been busy, Okay? But makes me feel good I’ve been missed. I’ve missed yakking with you, too.

September:
Okay. So I haven’t been very talkative lately. Get used to it. :)

October:
I have so many people to thank. The onsite and offsite messages have lifted my spirits to heights they haven’t been to in a long time. I am dizzy with gratitude.

November:
So how do ya like it – my new security system – me sitting in it? Instead of a big old growling black dog, I got me a big old growling black truck. Let me explain my logic here.

xoxo