Looking forward

Oh what a year it was.

I think it is fair to say that 2009 was one of the most interesting years of my life. It was a very sad year but it was also a very happy year.

In May I said a final goodbye to my late husband Bill. He is now a part of the Eternal Reef.

The concrete ball containing his ashes and those of his mother was placed in the Chesapeake Bay as a part of an artificial reef. It is a man-made habitat of all sorts of ocean life out there.

Bill was an avid diver. He will be happy there.

A final resting place. At last. Goodbye, Bill.

There is no more sadness. There is no more pain and misery. Whenever I think of him now I remember the happy times we had together.

For the whole year I felt a chapter of my life was drawing to a close. The final curtain was drawn November 30th when we said goodbye to Runty.

Runty was diagnosed with stomach cancer earlier this year. He was responding so well to chemotherapy until November when the disease took over his body and there was nothing more we could do for him. It was a very sad goodbye but I felt I was doing right by him. After all, we had 17 years together and he had brought nothing but pure joy into my life.

And now Runty has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He and Bill are together now.

That chapter of my life has finally drawn to a close.

I have no regrets. I wouldn't have asked for anything else. It was worth the ride.

And it was also in 2009 when I entered a new chapter of my life. A new beginning brought on by a man named Carl Vercio.

I am so happy. I learned the hard way that there was happiness to be had, that you could love, and be loved again if you would open your heart to it. I am glad I did. A happiness named Carl.

I am looking forward to our future together. I am ready!