Silver Linings

I ran into someone I hadn't seen in a few years yesterday.  Someone I had done some work with in the past, who happened to be in a meeting out at Nike, and who stopped by my office to say hi.

When he saw me he said, "I love your haircut!"

Well you know what happened next.  20 minutes later the story was told, the happy ending revealed.

He had one simple question for me.

"How did your husband do?"

And I said, "Incredible."

But I felt the need to elaborate, so I did, and this is what I said:

After twenty years of marriage, I knew he would be there for me.

I knew he would not complain, that he would let me take charge and that he would take charge when I couldn't.

I knew he would find the one, minuscule, positive part of having cancer, and he would milk it for all it was worth - in his mind.

I knew he would never once try and tell me to look on the bright side, that everything happens for a reason, or any of that other bullshit.

And I knew, that the silver lining would be that everyone else in my life got to see why I married him.

Welcome Back

We simply had the best vacation of our lives in Montana.  The train trip was magical, kids skied, sledded, played to their hearts content.

I always like to share my favorite memories that I have with each person on a vacation - we usually sit around the table on the last night and tell each other what we liked best about our trip.

My highlights were:

Harris - He gave me a ring for Christmas and told me he wanted to marry me.  In Montana he told me he wanted to marry me and live in Montana.  When I asked him about the rest of the family he said, "They can visit."  Swoon!

Harper - Hands down the moment she let go of me and said, "I want to ski by myself" as we were heading down the hill.  I will cherish yelling, "pizza pie!  french fry!" for the rest of my life.

Graham - Watching him practice snowboarding down the hill in front of the house we were staying in.

Doug - Spending the day, just the two of us whooshing down the ski mountain.

My mom -  Snuggling into a Dog Sled with my mom and Harris.  It is always fun to be able to do something new with those you love - especially your mom!

And on the last day, after my mom told me, "you are never going to finish that puzzle before we leave," I sat with the Eikenkids and finished a 1000 piece puzzle with about 2 hours to spare.

d

Resolved

I have about 15 resolutions floating around in my head right now.  Let's see what you think.

1.  Hike all the trails within Forest Park.
2.  Eat something green everyday (M&M's don't count).
3.  Take my vitamins.
4.  Convert my Blog into a book.
5.  Have dinner with my best girlfriends once a month.
6.  Ski with my kids.
7.  Say the "F" word less.
8.  Cook more than once a month.
9.  Practice Yoga
10.  Make it through a year without changing, canceling, or simply ignoring my dentist appointments.
11.  Run
12.  Mountain Bike
13.  Say yes
14.  Swim in the ocean.
15.  Forget about cancer.