Anticipation. Waiting. Expecting.
These words would well describe this January and last for me.
I've thought recently of how, in certain ways, this year is so much like last, yet, so different.
This January, as last, I'm waiting constantly for a phone call.
Whereas last year was marked by sadness and inevitability, this year is defined by excitement and joy. As those who have followed my blog or who know me best (which, basically, is probably the same group of people) know, last year I lost my dad and this year I'm waiting for a baby girl to be born. It's an odd swing, to be just a year. Last year, every time the phone rang at work or home, I was dreading that it was the sound that heralded my father's death. And this, each time I am paged at work, I expect that it will be my wife trumpeting the arrival of our daughter.
January has always been a hard month for our family. My mother's parents both died in January, though several years apart. Daddy had a heart attack, aneurism surgery, and also passed in January.
I'm hoping this year starts a new cycle for January for my family. We've said for many years 'if we make it through January, we'll be ok.'
Maybe going forward we'll say "wow. I can't wait to see what happens in January."
