What I learned in 2012

I started these posts a couple of years ago and found they're a good way to remind me of the year just ended and to be grateful for each day, as you never know what the next one will bring.

What I learned in 2012

• Starting a new year off with friends is always a good idea - thanks, Ray and Becky for your January 1st soiree to set the tone for the year with good wine, good friends, good food
•  Insurance companies can be very, very frustrating
• Orthopedic surgeons are rock stars
• Good friends who live far away can always be visited with a plane flight to Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago or Austin. (And a few other places...)
• Our parents are not indestructible
• Having two knee replacements at the same time is better than two separate times.  (Well, I only did the former, so the latter is purely speculation.)
• Laguna Beach for a weekend with dear friends can feel like a week's vacation
• Turning 55 is great - it opens up opportunities that weren't there a day earlier
• USC isn't so bad, at least their orthopedic doctors aren't - I love my Trojan knees
• We live in the best neighborhood, with the best neighbors
• I was not bored being off work for 6 weeks
• Cameron can be a very good caregiver
• Friday assistants make the world go round
• As proud as I am of my nephew, he continues to do things that make me even more proud.  I'll probably burst next year when he graduates high school and starts Stanford.
• Some people are just rude and thoughtless, and you can't change them
• Paso wines keep getting better (I'm talking about you Daou, Ecluse, Dark Star...)
• Good friends who live far away can always visit us with a plane flight from San Francisco, Sydney, New York, Chicago and Austin
• You can decide on Monday night to fly to Australia on Tuesday and actually do it
• There is an ocean called The Southern Ocean.  And I've seen it.
• Pathways continues to inspire me and we keep raising more money through the efforts of the amazing women who are Friends of Pathways.
• Watching a 4 year old grow and learn is pure delight and awe.  Listening to "Call Me Maybe" over and over and over and over and over and over...not so much
• Enough is sometimes enough and there comes time to say good-bye
• Being a Bruin on a police escorted bus from DIA to the hotel in Westminster, CO, is really cool!
• Cancer sucks and is totally unfair.  It can take a vibrant 24 year old with a stellar future and not care about the wreckage left in the wake
• A city covered in cobblestones (hello, Prague!) is beautiful but you end up with sore feet
• Everyone has their price
• Coming up with 26 random acts of kindness is not easy but it's wonderful to try
• Our parents are not immortal

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who can never repay you." - John Wooden 

 The very best of the 2013 to you and those you hold dear.  Give them an extra hug when you see them and never leave or end a call without telling them you love them.  When we lost Cameron's father this month we knew, without question, that the last words we exchanged with him were "I love you".  It is a comfort.  It's also good to hear, even if you know it.  If you need practice saying it, start with the person in the mirror.

 Happy New Year!

What I learned in 2010

Last year I posted a note on Facebook titled "What I learned in 2009". I'm taking a look back today to see what I learned in 2010:

Dancing with a two year old is good for anything that ails you.

It's okay to not give to every charity that asks and not have to explain nor feel guilty about it.

My husband is my best friend, as well as my lover, my partner, my roommate, my co-chef, co-host, confidante, sounding board, reality check and one of the funniest people I know.

Spending more time on your BlackBerry/iPhone/Droid/computer than talking with the ones you're physically with is, actually, quite rude.

Sometimes love isn't enough and we have to know when to stop trying and let go.

Texting only at stop lights and during slow traffic still isn't a good idea.

Clients are clients 100% of the time and only really, truly friends about 1% of the time.

Skype is a great way to keep friends and family close, and I should use it more.

There is a heck of a lot of nothing between Tucson and Austin.

I can learn current music by watching "Glee".

Traveling with other couples and sharing a house can be really fun, especially when cooking and wine pairing are involved.

Giving our elite flyers free domestic upgrades has altered where I sit in the airplane.

I am only 13.5 months away from the senior discount at the Edwards Cinema. (WTH?@$%#%#@!)

Apologizing, no matter whose fault it is, doesn't make me weak; it's not saying it that does.

Wine touring and tasting continue to fascinate me, whether it's in Spain, Paso or a new wine at the Larson Lodge.

There is still room for new friends in my life (Lora, Liz, Greg, Pat, Larry, Holly, Libby...).

A merger is a scary thing, no matter how much you're told it's a good thing. It very well may be a great thing, but it's still scary.

I am really good at organizing a project and making it successful.

A good fitting bra cannot be underestimated nor overrated.

Our parents are aging and they can be fragile; we need to keep them close and let them know how much we love and appreciate them.

Traveling with friends is not always a good idea.

I can watch "Finding Nemo" four times in one day if a two year old asks me to.

Watching a high school water polo team lose a big game can make me cry and my heart ache.

My family, on the whole, is pretty great.

Every day, no matter what happens, I am blessed and so amazingly lucky.