One of the more challenging aspects of wrapping up a year is getting a sense of what the heck it was all about; summing up the highs and lows and moving forward with a sense of closure and anticipation of growth and evolution.
2009 was difficult in light of some of the deeply personal challenges that arrived at our feet (many of which we are still unraveling) and utterly brilliant in the number of bright and shiny doors that opened.
Photo right – Given the opportunity to write for EAT Magazine on a monthly basis has opened doors… and menus!
And the thing that is most ironic or perhaps eloquent or even bittersweet is that you can experience tragedy and opportunity at the same time. In immensely lethal doses.
And guess what? It tastes like a macadamia-nut and maple infused slice of French toast. Really, it does.
Because while my dear wife and spent evening after evening sitting on the lanai of our Kona area condo, we tasted the saltiness of our tears combined with the bracing fruit of a California Merlot, followed by a Pinot Noir, followed by a Shiraz, – all with great home cooked food of course!
Some would say that the combination of tears, sadness and laughter is a sign of madness – in our case it was a part of healing and re-birth.
We spent almost the entire month of November 2009 in the tropical womb of Hawaii, surrounded by friends, given our space – to meditate and find peace as we neared the conclusion of a tumultuous year.
And what made it the most difficult was the loss of our Wing-Man – my Mom-in-law. She was like the proverbial co-pilot, who when faced with a insurmountable ethical, moral or technical question, would look at the dashboard of the cockpit, illuminated with a zillion possible answers, glance over the console, through the windscreen and down onto the unforgiving World below, furrow her brow and toss out the most obvious and logical answer possible.
Yup. That was what she was like. She always had the answer. Which left me with that sweet option of being along for the ride – maybe pulling my weight… maybe not.
And losing that creature-feature in your life is like losing the aircraft hydraulics or tail rudder… no so easy when you are in charge of the crew and passengers.
Now I am the captain. And it is a tough role trust me. Still getting a feel for the cap and the uniform. It’s still kind of sticky but it think I am up for it.
Anyway. 2009 was one of those years where it occurred to me that there were going to be way more opportunities than time to actually do everything justice.
These stories and some of their outcomes in Part two!