Friday, January 3, 2014

Don't Let the Door Hit You....2013

In a final act of petty vindictiveness, the last thing that happened to me in 2013 was to lose a pearl and diamond ring that once belonged to my mom.  It wasn't hugely valuable, but it was very sentimental, and a nice bit of family lore.  My mom found the ring at a tag sale, misidentified as costume jewelry, and bought it for $1.00.  She cleaned it up, brought it to her jeweler who told her it was real pearl with tiny diamonds set in white gold.  It was proof of how smart she was.

I on the other hand, was using it as a scarf ring and failed to secure it properly after putting my scarf back on, after having to take it off to jump around Sheila's kitchen to Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light."  Proof of how dumb I still am.

2013 wasn't all bad - nothing ever is. Both kids got into the colleges of their dreams.  P and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary.  The four of us are healthy and doing things that interest us and make us happy.  No one is hungry, or cold, without access to food and heat.  But the big impacts of the year were losing people we love.

2013 was about loss. So I suppose losing my mom's ring was the appropriate last act for it.  The first thing that happened to me in 2014 was a long, lovely kiss with P.  I'm holding on to that as the story of this year.