With just two days until my birthday, which always shapes up busier than Christmas Day itself, I want to take the opportunity to consider the past twelve months. I am fortunate to be surrounded by a good number of wonderful people, and they make such a positive contribution to my life.
January of 2011 ushered in the 7th year of matrimony for B and me. Quite the opposite of an itch, I found myself even more in love with him than before. Thor started a new school midway through his Kinder year, and managed to survive that major change along with the moving of house, and changing of jobs B and I had done only a few months prior. And we took Manhattan with my Lobster and her princesses, which was long overdue and so very good for my soul. There was the added and unexpected bonus of running into June Pillay Graham (of junebijou.com) after a decade and change, and she was just the cherry on the cake.
February made me shiver–because it was cold. Bone cold. Otherwise, I think it was unremarkable.
March, dear. That was a lovely reunion of friends from near and far, and my once-in-ten-years venture out to a live concert for Duran Duran’s show in an Oklahoma casino. Because I enjoy juxtaposition. Nicole and I were hard at work editing our book for publication, and I was giving myself an ulcer over it. I also organized a Women Worth Knowing networking event (Renae, I still have socks to give you!) and managed to meet some even more interesting people than before.
April was all about The Order of the Blood, a bittersweet experience for me. I was thrilled to have been published and excited at having been given the opportunity based on the very raw draft Nicole had bravely submitted, and then horrified to realize the editing was up to us and on very short notice. And while I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish in 72 hours, I learned a valuable lesson about why professional editors exist. That said, Gideon is and always will be one of my favorite vampires of all times. You can buy it as an eBook or paperback. I’d get it at Amazon (cos it’s cheaper there.)
In May, I was delighting in the walks to Thor’s school every morning, feeling fortunate and grateful for this life we have. And, I was also coming to realize that I needed to take charge of myself emotionally and find someone who could help me build skills for emotional infrastructure.
I had my first appointment with my therapist in June, started going back to the gym, swimming laps to overcome that fear of sharks in swimming pools. Thor started swimming lessons. I drove into a huge pothole at the YMCA and had to have a wrecker come tow me out. A series of events at Thor’s summer camp led us to a new one, and back into the presence of Linda and her princess, and I couldn’t have been happier about that.
July was hot, but I got to cool off in a gorgeous resort pool in Houston for a work event, and was able to reconnect with Laura, bridging another decade long gap in time.
August was about birthdays for boys, end of summer breaks down in Corpus Christi, and back to school with our First Grader.
September was quiet, as was October. Just like we like them. Then with November came an opportunity to return to my career of choice in a position I’d coveted, working for the people I had really enjoyed–and I jumped at it.
And now we are in December, and pretty soon we’ll start it all over again.
For now, happy Solstice to y’all. This year I started a new tradition of talking to Thor about astronomy, biology, and evolution on the Longest Night of the Year. Next year, I will introduce Copernicus Claus, Santa’s science-minded brother. Copernicus Claus brings books (written by his science and sci-fi elves Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Ursula Le Guin, and Douglas Adams) about astronomy to all little girls and boys, so that they can learn about the universe and the billions and billions of stars in it. The awesome thing about Copernicus Claus is that he comes twice a year. On the Longest Day of the Year, he brings books about biology (not written by Hugh Hefner), so all little girls and boys can learn about the things living in their little neck of the galaxy. It’s a good thing.
The Outside Lane 
birthday wishes to you (~_~)