Wow, 2009 is coming to a close! Shortly we leave for our annual New Year's trip, also known as New Year's 2010 or New Year's XI, with our college friends. We have been getting away on a mountain retreat with them every year for the last ten years. A whole decade has passed! I laugh when I think back on that first year which was 1999/2000 and thus the big Y2K scare. Ha! Since then I have begun and ended each year (Charles missed New Year's 2004 and 2006 due to deployments) surrounded by some dear, dear friends who have seen us through plenty of good and bad times. It's a delightful tradition and probably the most relaxed we are all year.
So, of course we always reflect on the year behind, and the year before us. What a year 2009 has been! Last year at New Year's I was 15 weeks pregnant and full of hope and anxiety and excitement. Two of my dearest friends were also pregnant, one just announcing it at New Year's, and I looked forward to the year to come!
Charles and I joke that the odd numbered years have been a bit more difficult for us the last several years, and 2009 was no exception. While it has brought us great joy, no doubt, with Emmy's birth, the year certainly started out with a bang. At the end of January during a one week span Charles' mom was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer, I found out I was losing my job, and the doctor called with the news that our baby had a higher-than-normal chance of having a neural tube defect. WHOA. Talk about overwhelming. Looking back now, I'm amazed I didn't go nuts with worry.
While being laid off has been difficult and we're still adjusting to the loss of income, I'm so glad I've been able to devote my time entirely to being a mom. Charles' mom came through her chemo treatments with flying colors and is now, for all intents and purposes, cancer free. No one has yet used the term "remission" but I feel that it is inevitable! What a blessing. After she finished chemo her doctors had to make a few adjustments to her Parkinson's meds, but she's feeling great and looking great and we are so thankful. And then of course there's Emmy. What a little fighter! Thankfully, I had that test done that resulted in that false positive for neural tube. It allowed the doctor's to find the real problem and keep a close eye on us. After a lot of bed rest, countless prayers, buckets of tears, many sleepless nights, here we have this beautiful baby girl. She's grown and changed so much since May. Of course, I know that's what babies are supposed to do, but I suppose every parent feels these emotions anew and I can't help feeling that it is extraordinary to see just HOW far our tiny little miracle has come.
We lost Charles' grandmother this year, his only surviving grandparent, and we know she would have loved to have seen Emmy. But, we rejoice that Emmy still has two living great-grandmother's who are smitten with her and that they get to spend time together and we cherish those visits.
2009 has certainly been a special one for us and we're so grateful for all the blessings of the year and the good friends and family who have surrounded us and supported us. Truly, there is no way we would have made it without you! We look forward to a great 2010. Happy New Year everyone!
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