As I sit here in our hotel room ‘home’ 2012 is only a few hours away. The clock is ticking away and so the time we have been here is also increasing. The world did not end as the Mayan calendar led us to speculate. But things are definitely not the same. Things have changed, but it has nothing to do with an ancient calendar.
One year ago I never would have thought I would be sitting in this tiny room without my ‘stuff’. My priorities have been pinpointed whether or not I had a choice. Well I guess I always had a choice.
We were gifted with a new daughter in law this year. It came as quite a surprise since we were told after the fact. We did not have the pleasure of meeting her until Christmas day, six months after the wedding. I suspect she was just as anxious at meeting us as we were of meeting her. We tend to let our imaginations take over when the unknown looms in the future.
We have done some things this year I never would have thought we would. We spent Christmas with our sons in Austin and not with our parents and siblings. We traveled Christmas evening on icy roads; something we would normally not have done.
Come to think of it the past five months have been littered with many such things. It has been a bitter sweet year on so many accounts. I never thought I would be on the road close to twenty five percent of each month. I never thought I would be living from a suitcase even when I am home. They say home is where your heart is but this year my heart is torn between two very different places. Our home is not where we are together most so does it still count as ‘home’? Do I leave my heart in the hotel room where we are usually together? It gets confusing at times.
You know what is really quaint? For forty years we have shared a king size bed even when traveling on vacations. Our first hotel room ‘home’ found us sharing a queen size bed. It was a little comfortable, but we made it work. Now since December 2 we have moved to another hotel room and the bed is now only full size. Wow! Now I must be cautious each time I turn over…where is the edge of the bed? I suppose God is forcing us to sleep closer and closer together. Maybe he has a plan here; he usually does.
All I can say about 2012 I have had experiences that have made me stop and think about what was of real importance to us. The conclusion is being together as much as we can is what really matters. We never know how much time we have together.
God put us in this situation and we are trying to make the best of it.
We have the sparkling wine chilled. We are waiting to pop the cork. The pink bubbles will rise in the glasses and we will toast another year together.
We are ready for 2013!
Here’s hoping it will bring joy and happiness not just for us, but for all of our friends and family.
