I’ve never been one of those types to send out a holiday “this is how we’re doing” card or anything, but it occurred to me the other day that this is my first holiday season as an officially single person, and with the year I’ve had, I thought catching up some loved ones might be a good thing.
Gracie is beautiful, gorgeous, and five. She is classified as a child with a disability (nothing specific, we just say it’s a behavioural something she’s going to grow out of), and because of this, she gets to go to the greatest school in the world, where she is making wonderful progress and having a terrific time. Awesome Academy (it’s this special ed school) is also wonderful to parents, let me come in whenever I want, have support groups with in-house babysitting, and I actually joined the PTA. They have me come in and do improvisational storytelling in classrooms, and I’m going to do a yoga class for the parent support group some time soon. It’s fun, and so very rewarding.
Gracie is talking more and more, and one great joy is being able to take her to the library on weekends. Despite all the changes to her life over the past year, she remains a wonderfully happy child, enthusiastic and smart and sneaky.
My health is okay. The MS is under control as long as I behave myself, as is the stomach thing with the hiatal hernia. I go to kickboxing twice a week and have recently started krav maga. No horse riding for me til spring…if you haven’t heard, my beloved Shadow died just before Thanksgiving, and I’m not ready to ride again just yet. Oh, for those playing the home game – I think Shadow is a Pegasus in horsie heaven, not a unicorn. I always said she was part thestral anyway.
I’m not really performing much, and it’s a bummer, but there’s just no time in the life of a full-time single mom with a special-needs child. Camp is wonderful and gets my performance jones out in little ways, and of course the Lady Mondegreen videos keep coming. I have been volunteering places, anywhere I get to use my talents and make people smile, and if they want to pay me, that’s great, but I’m not too fussed. I do miss the renfair a great deal. I’d love to do more stuff and will when the universe sends some my way – but right now I can’t pound pavements, I have to focus on Gracie.
I have lost many people this year, but I have also gained some and gotten back some I thought I would never see again, and that is a blessing. My family remains wonderful and supportive, as do my closest of friends (you know who you are). I didn’t get to ride the World’s Largest Carousel, but I did complete another phase of my Masonic studies, so that’s all right. My cat is hanging in there, and I am beginning to like Doctor Who. Um, what else. I got the roof repaired, and am slowly doing nice things to the house. I take a lot of vitamin D3.All things considered, Gracie and I are doing really well. I’m not going to lie and say the past year hasn’t mostly sucked, but we have each other and I have hope, and faith that everything will work out the way it is supposed to, and it doesn’t matter that I don’t know now what that is. I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season. If you are with someone, cherish him or her, and if you are alone, don’t be sad. Nothing stays the same forever, and things do get better. I believe that. Keep smiling…I know I do.
