A YEAR LIKE NO OTHER

Jan 1, 2018

Over the past 33 years Tom Glaser and I have had incredible highs, some soul-crushing lows, and lots of everything in between. But 2017… well, words almost fail me. (And if you know me at all, you’ll understand the significance of that last statement.) It’s been a year beyond all that we could think, ask, or dream. I’m swerving hard to avoid going schmaltzy here, but forgive me if I keep getting pulled back into that lane. I am beyond grateful, and in complete wonder and awe. Every. Single. Day.

2017 was a year like no other.

WE GREW. Things weren’t going according to “text book” at the beginning of our daughter-in-law's pregnancy. Levels weren’t where they should be, suspicious pain revealed potential problems, and Ben and Ashley were told to expect a miscarriage. But Brooks Thomas Glaser had other plans. He arrived on April 10th healthy and perfect, with joy as his factory setting and his “chill" and “contentment" levels set to 11. He beat the odds, and I suspect that he will continue to be full of surprises! We have 5 grandchildren now who are not only amazing, of course, but continually amaze me. I love seeing the world through their eyes. My cup, my heart, my life - all overflow with gratitude.

WE MOVED. We sold our first family home of 30 years and bought and renovated our final and forever home. It was a whirlwind of exhausting activity but by spring of 2017 we were settled in, and we’re still pinching ourselves! I believe that the architect who dreamed up this mid-century, slightly funky home on this “private but in the middle of everything” wooded, mountain view lot was custom building it for me all those years ago. He couldn’t have known that he was ticking every single box on our wish list - and then some - but he was. I only wish he was still around so we could thank him for building our dream home back in 1960. Not lavish, extravagant, or huge, just perfectly and comfortably “us.” It took over a year of looking to find it, but we’re home.

WE VACATIONED. Our son, Adam, lives in Hawaii. In May we finally made the long, uncomfortable, but totally worth it journey to visit him on the island of Oahu. We spent the first 8 days in a private beach front home on the quiet and calm North Shore of the island. If we saw 3 other people on our stretch of beach at any given time, that was a crowd. It was truly paradise. No other way to describe it. After our stay on the North Shore we moved into a condo right across the street from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki Beach for the rest of our 2-week stay. A completely different, but still awesome experience. Having a “local” be our tour guide was way better than traditional sight seeing! Adam took us to places we would have never seen otherwise. We hiked, snorkeled, kayaked, attempted to paddle board, visited botanical gardens, trekked through lava tubes, took in a luau, ate ridiculous amounts of food, and relaxed like we hadn’t in a very long time. The blazing sky shows at sunrise and sunset were nothing short of breathtaking. I felt as though my heart might fall straight from my chest each time the sun crossed that horizon. It was other-worldly, and it was impossible to contain my wonder.

WE CELEBRATED. We rejoiced with friends and family as their families grew with children and grandchildren. We celebrated love at some beautiful weddings. We belted out “Happy Birthday” around our big farm table over and over, and shared traditional Sunday dinners and so many other moments that filled my heart to capacity. And I did my best to not take any of it for granted.

I feel life - its strength and fragility - all at the same time more than ever these days. It’s like God has brought everything to the surface and I’m swimming in some kind of current that guides me to where I need to go and shows me what I need to see, all in strikingly brilliant color.

Yes, 2017 was unlike any other year but, to be sure, we’ve had years where we basically crawled over the finish line barely still in one piece. We’ve had times when the current seemed more like a tsunami - hostile and downright brutal. But I am thankful for all of it because I believe that it’s all working together for good. Somehow those highs and lows conspire like unlikely comrades, at the command of the Big Picture, to forge us into something so pliable, yet wholly unbreakable.

I don’t know what the future holds, and it doesn’t matter. I’m being carried either way - and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.