Happy Halloween!

I have not posted in over a week, golly geez. This past week marked the passing of another year...a year since I started dating Rich...a year since I almost lost my father. A lot happened in a year.

1. Rich and I began dating October 22 of last Fall.
2. My father fell off his horse and almost died on October 26, 2004, my Grandma's birthday. He spent 4 months in ICU then 2 different rehab facilities. He finally came home in February. He didn't begin working and driving again until September...and is still recovering and going to rehab.
3. Karen's father passed away this winter. It was devastating to all who knew him. He was a wonderful, generous, giving man. He is missed by his family and friends..he touched many lives.
4. For 26 yrs, I'd been a non-practicing Jewish woman. Jewish in name only. This year, I began the exhilirating process of learning about my religion and culture. Its been fascinating and wonderful! I've been taking classes, attending study groups, services...I gave up bread for Passover and fasted for Yom Kippur. For the first time in my life, I can identify with what it means to be a Jewish woman.
5. Engagements. Lots of them. Ryan and Lauren (yay, I'm going to have a sister-in-law!). Karen and Chris. Joanna and Brian. Gene and Jennie. Matt and Allison. Andrea and Frank. And I'm in three of those weddings--Ryan and Lauren's, Karen and Chris', Andrea and Frank's.
6. Shayla, our dear golden retriever was put to sleep, over the summer. She was a good, sweet pup.
7. Rich and I broke up.

And, a year later...life goes on. This year, Grandma didn't have to celebrate her birthday at the Au Bon Pain at the Morristown Memorial Hospital. I am spending time discovering myself...spending time with friends...growing up and putting my life back on track. And this Halloween...I'm not spending it pacing the ICU waiting room...dreading those moments when I'd have to see my father attached to millions of tubes and machines...I can spend it laughing and smiling with laughing, smiling children, chocolate, my dog and my family. Ahhh...new beginnings...relationships end...but friendships begin...seasons change and we all grow.