I found myself saying to my best friend last night, that I was ready for a new chapter in my life...I just didn't know where it started or what it would be. Looking at that idea more closely, I feel very positive about what it means. I think it means that I am coming to terms with the big losses of the last year, and know there will be better days. One of the teachers I work with wrote this on a sympathy card: "Your life will never be the same, but it doesn't have to be bad." That's a big idea. Doesn't that statement cover almost any big loss or change? Acceptance and moving forward is the goal; not moving away or forgetting. There's a blurred boundary here, at least when you're in it. I imagine that once you are past this point, it is more clear, and you find out you "had the power" all along. I've always liked that line from The Wizard of Oz...what the good witch tells Dorothy when she says she wants to go back to Kansas...funny, that is where my grandma lived, and where my mom grew up. One thing for sure, we're not in Kansas anymore! We're on our way to somewhere else, and we can always return if we need to. Things won't be the same, but they don't have to be bad.

I am grateful for the anticipation of my niece's new baby...she'll be born soon.

I am grateful for the bigger idea of the cycle of life...my mom left, a new baby is coming.

I am grateful for wireless internet, so I can journal in the middle of the night, without waking everyone else!

To be continued.....Cindy