This year was a very sweet one for us.

For the past 4 years we have dealt with many family issues. My Dad passed away, Mom’s short term memory has been stolen from her. We sold the family home, I retired after a 43 year career in fashion and we now have Mom in assisted living where, after finally giving in to it, she has made a “best friend” and is doing exceptionally well.

I feel like I can finally exhale.

My husband and I decided it was time we could travel again. In June we were off to Europe for a few days in Italy and then a Mediterranean cruise with stops in Italy, France, Monaco, and Spain.  We traveled with our close friends Carol and Tony and had a wonderful time. It felt so good to be back in Europe again after being away from it for a couple of years. The following month we had a reunion vacation with my close friends of 45 years in the Finger Lakes in NY and did some serious wine tasting. In August there was also long weekend in Richmond with my closest friends. Tom and Al did a great job of entertaining themselves while the four of us talked endlessly. There was another winery trip to Williamsburg, Va in September.

But the crown jewel in our months of travel was to take the family to Disney for 10 days starting the week after Thanksgiving. This was such a memorable trip. We got to have some good family time together and to see our grandson experience Disney for the first time. Seeing the Magic Kingdom and Buzz Lightyear  and Woody up close and personal through the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old was so very sweet. We hope that it will stay locked in his memory of “firsts”. It certainly will not be his last trip to Disney.

And now it is time to say so long to another year. It was good for us personally but a very challenging year for our country. My hope is that we all will step up to the plate and keep our country on track. It is more important than ever to participate in any way we can and not take the stance of “it wouldn’t matter what I do” because it does.

We all need to be hopeful for the future. How easy life would be if we could all just get along!! And, it really is true…all you need is love…and Disney!

Happy New Year!!