Out with the bad (sick), in with the good (healthy)

What a whirlwind week between Christmas and the New Year....the lack of sleep and non-stop singing caught up with me as I was down for the count the day after Christmas.

Thank goodness the choir was given the day off because I was voice-less. I'm sure there were many people raising their glasses that I was speechless for a few days (ha ha).

I was very blessed in 2010 with my health. Never missed a day of work and felt pretty good all year long.

The sun and vitamin D can do wonders.....well, my tan has started fading and the tricks Mother Nature is now playing on this woman's body....apparently she's a jokester!

I felt guilty not attending Mass at all even though I'd just sung 4 of them....so I bundled up and attended Mass...went home, took the meds and slept all day long, getting up occasionally for fluids and food.

It's truly amazing what medicine and sleep can do. In just 24 hours, I felt 50 percent better.....made a vow to ride out the cold and hopefully begin the new year healthier. Out with the bad, in with the new.

My sister was not as lucky. She wound up in the hospital on New Year's eve having an emergency appendectomy. Oh my gosh. The joke, though it's never been a real joke, was that there was always someone in the hospital at the holidays and special occiasions when Mom and Uncle Bill were alive. I told you, it's not a joke but a characteristic in my family. And it seems my sister is keeping that tradition alive.

I'm just praying she too is getting the illness out in the old year and will be happy and healthy come 2011!!

Happy New Year everyone! May you and yours be healthy, happy, blessed with lots of joy and serendipities while constantly enveloped by the overwhelming love of family and friends!

Can't come up for air

January is usually the slowest month for me --I try to use it to not only rest but to start the year off right and rev up for the next 11 months!

Well, say goodbye to any rest this year.

January has come and gone in the blink of an eye.

In light of the responsibilities tossed on my lap back on October 26, 2009, what I have had to take care of over the last 31/2 months, I will have no free time this year, no slow month, no time to come up for air.

I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.

There are those who try to offer advice and say, 'don't take on so much.' And though they are just trying to help, NOT in my skin.

These days, it's a wonder I get up....I put on matching socks and shoes...and make it to work--all which are essential in making the day a success.

Anything else I accomplish the cherry on top.

It's true! You lop on a few more things to try to enjoy myself a little, take time out for 'relaxation' if that's possible, and that certainly does not allow for those 'doing nothing days.' We just had the NBA All-Star Game, which is tradition in our family. And then factor in over 2 weeks of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. I'm sorry, I do have my priorities. They will not happen again for 4 years and I am going to catch as much of the games as possible--another family tradition.

Then just when I think I have everything under control (as best I can), someone dies and I sing a funeral.....

My uncle is going into the hospital. Unexpected and quite unnerving. Way I look at life, it's these 'unexpected' events which oftentimes are much more important than the daily routine. So you have to make time for them and re-arrange the other 'obligations.'


Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday could not come at a better time for me. I count on this time of year. Many look at Lent as a downer--'oh I have to give up something.' I have to say, I usually don't give up much but try to move mountains, accomplish much good, and do those things which help others (and me) make a difference in society.

I can already tell this Lent will be challenging with all I have on my 'to do' list and now making more demands on myself. But the thing is, everything on the list MUST get done. They are not frivolous requests. If I don't get them done, I get behind at work, I get in trouble with my creditors, my car runs out of gas or worse....they all must be satisfied.


On this bittersweet day when Uncle Bill will be going into the hospital to see if his team of specialists can figure out what is wrong, you have to look at the bright side. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday--a time to make a fresh start. A time to not only forgive others who have wronged us in the past but FORGIVE OURSELVES!!!

And, I've not eaten a Pazcki today! Hopefully that's a healthy sign for the 46 days ahead!!!