A start of a new year...

So 2007 will go down as the worst year of my life. One that changed who I was and set me onto a different path. It was a loss of many things for myself and those I care for dearly. I have lost more than I thought I would ever lose this young in my life, but with all losses there are things I gained and those things that I have to look forward. I used to have this saying that I wrote everywhere - I carried it with me to remind me when clouds darkened the horizons - "If I could wish for my life to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would decline, for then life would never teach me anything." Well I must agree this has been my year of learning. I learned about the struggles of dealing with an unknown illness in its second year of existence, I learned about marriage and what that partnership requires, I learned about what family means and most of all - for the first time in my life - I learned what it truly means to say good-bye. I am not going to tell you this year was for the best, but I will say that I have found the value in it and now I am leaving it behind. The past is in the past. This year has armed me with something I have been building towards and until this past year can honestly say I lacked - a true sense of self and what I want in life. I am now looking towards the future and what it holds for me - putting into place my goals and dreams and looking forward to working towards them. Today, I took the first step. Much to my mother's horror, I purchased my tickets to Paris. A journey I am taking on my own - one I must take on my own. A childhood dream. So this is the beginning - I am excited to see where I end up next year at this time but isnt that the point of life - the uncertainity - the promise of a better day. All my love everyone on this first day of the rest of lives...