Good Moods in 2010!

SO...This is the first installment in my six-month personal commitment to write about good moods...and it's my second time to write it. I was trying to edit the first one, and LOST the whole damned thing. And I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet. I'm not sure if that's a bad omen or not...but I'm going to keep on going, because...It's The Marquez Way.

Starting over...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope everyone had as much fun as I did last night. Fun isn't always defined by people, places or things...I sat my big rear at home, alone, playing on facebook and watching back-to-back episodes of "30 Rock." I had no deadlines, no demands on my time, nothing else to do but relax and usher out the old year. Larry surprised me by coming home around 10:30pm...I haven't seen him before midnight on New Year's Eve in years. Seems folks at the club just wanted to enjoy a nice dinner, then go on home for the stroke of midnight. Nice.

This morning, I woke up to let Roxie out. She had a hard time last night with the festivities in my neighborhood, which involves alot of fireworks. For some reason, the popping of the firecrackers scares her to death. But this morning, she's over it, and she's back in "Roxie the Wonderdog" mode. She spends a good part of every morning running in and out the back door, barking, crying, spinning around, and craning her neck to see the squirrels running in the tops of the trees. She can't get to them, but it doesn't stop her from trying. Even when she's taking a break, she sits on my loveseat, looking through the blinds to look for movement in the treetops. Her perseverence is very inspiring, really. She doesn't look at the situation and think "this is impossible, so I won't even try." Instead, she pretty much knows that she can't get the squirrel, but she wants the squirrel, so she keeps trying, day after day.

Alot of people have told me they are impressed with how strong Larry and I have been throughout Nicole's ordeal. In my mind, there was no option. Very early on after her accident, I was told by an emergency room physician that Nicole would be a quadraplegic for life. I was by myself in the Baltimore airport, trying to make my way to her in New York when I got that nugget of news. I couldn't bear to think of my beautiful, active Nicole confined to a wheelchair. So I made a decision to put that image out of my mind, and not to tell anyone. Instead, I thought out her moving...walking...dancing...and that's all we ever talked about outloud to her or anyone else.

It was a survival mechanism for me, I admit, but I believe it set the tone for her care in the hospital. We refused to accept the easy way out, but instead chose the path that was difficult, bumpy and sometimes scary. But at the end of that path was the ability to dance once again. So, Nicole has spent the past year navigating that difficult path with grace, perseverance, determination, motivation and pure grit. She just simply won't give up.

So as I start this new year, I, too, have personal goals. Some seem hard to reach, but I have to take my cues from Roxie and Nicole. I can't give up. I must continue to try. I know some days will be difficult, but if I continue to plow on through, I know I'll see positive results.

Even though I had to write this entry twice, I'm finding myself in a pretty good mood at the start of this new year. And I'd like to remind you that this has all come without my first sip of coffee--yet. I'm going to take it pretty easy again today, enjoying my quiet house with Larry (Nic and Joe return from New Orleans tomorrow). We'll see friends Sylvia and Terry, who are here from Atlanta, this afternoon.

Here's wishing you all a fruitful and happy new year!

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan