debboamerik

Happy new year, everyone.

I worked today. There were few students, but I hope the ones who were in class got a lot out of it, for all that.

I've been thinking about 2009 as a year ever since melebeth mentioned something about its not being so good.

She's right. I started the year with a sprained ankle that acted like a fractured ankle. There have been health problems for me and mine - everything from cancer to bad teeth. There have been emotional upheavals. There have been family upheavals. There was even a fire.

Still, I will say that some things have gone well. I've continued to learn just how valuable my friends and (extended) family are. I've learned, too, just how strong the support of my Family-of-Choice is. papertigers and I have drawn closer together, and (not coincidentally) I have grown a lot less emotionally dependent on her. I have been lucky in many ways. I still have blessings to count when anxiety tries to keep me awake.

Tomorrow, we will continue our Christmas celebrations with scooterbird and efbq's oldest, redheaded child. (Though I suppose, at 16, she is almost not a child anymore!)

Tonight, we have a clean house and Christmas carols on the stereo, good food, and cute cats. We are going to have a quiet and relaxed New Year's celebration with just the five of us (two humans, three cats). That is my favorite way to mark the change of the year. I feel good about this. May 2010 be a year of blessings and favors, joy and goodness for everyone who is reading this.

My little cousin Vince went into surgery today - and the doctor was able to save his elbow! Since he is a skateboarder, his range of motion is really important to him. They're warning him to be careful not to break the stem, though.

My other cousin is being closely watched by a cardiology team and they are most likely going to save both her and the baby. Talk about the best possible outcome! I really pray she doesn't become pregnant again before they are able to fix her heart problems, though; this is too stressful a ride.

It's late and I ought to be in bed, but good news! Hooray, Vince!

My moods tonight have been incredibly up and down. *sigh* Time for bed.

Vince's biopsy was inconclusive, so they're going to have to do a core biopsy. Ick. Poor boy's been on ibuprofin only because nothing they're giving him is working. They need to figure out that there is no crime in giving sick people pain medication.

Late Sunday night, I learned that my cousin, Vince Capaldi (whose name I am posting here because I want people praying for him, please), has a rare form of bone cancer. His 21st birthday is tomorrow. I remember the first time I saw him, a tiny little blond baby at the family Christmas Eve gathering. I thought he was named after me (I didn't know at the time that all the Jims in the family, his father included, were actually Vincents). My affection for him has not waned since, though we see each other at most once a year.

Anyone who wants to write to him can, at:

Vince Capaldi
c/o Discovery Church
580 E. Easy St.
Simi Valley, Ca 93065

Also, Nikki is indeed very, very ill. She has a mass in her throat and is currently at the veterinary hospital. (Please see papertigers's post for more details.) Both of us woke up this morning crying. I am glad that today is a "testing day" and I won't have to present much to my classes, because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to. Not feeling particularly functional at the moment.