TheBanyanTree: Auld Lang Syne

[Sachet]

I liked this post a lot, Anita. It was an intriguing way to learn more 
about you. I also greatly admire your writing style.

...Barb

Anita Coia wrote:
> I've been inspired by Margaret's great summary of her decade. Here's my
> attempt.
> 
>  
> 
> In the last 10 years, I've:
> 
>  
> 
> .         Gained a husband, which is the last thing I expected from my fling
> with my co-worker
> 
> .         Gained two step-children and an ex-wife, and a whole new set of
> challenges and experiences
> 
> .         Learned to ski at the relatively late age of 35 to ensure that my
> husband and I could go on holiday together. We might get to a beach together
> sometime in the next decade.
> 
> .         Finally settled back into a permanent work role to better support
> my daughter and husband, after 12 or so years of contract work. I'm learning
> to love paid sick leave and holiday leave! 
> 
> .         Gave birth to a daughter at the age of 41 - 10 years after
> deciding that my chances were pretty slim of finding a man who was worth
> conceiving with before I left my child-bearing years. And watched many of my
> friends have the same wonderful experience in their own lives.
> 
> .         Visited amazing (ski) locations in Canada and the US and stood at
> elevations that I never dreamed I would see, in temperatures I NEVER thought
> I would CHOOSE to be in - and it was worth every minute
> 
> .         Found meditation and self-enquiry, and turned my life around from
> self-pity and lack of understanding of myself, to understanding and
> accepting myself (generally!). Doesn't mean I understand other people
> though!  J
> 
> .         Moved out of inner-city Melbourne to the 'burbs for the second
> time in my life - again for the sake of a serious relationship. Because I
> wouldn't choose to do it for any other reason!  Though it IS nice to have
> fresh air and large expanses of grass - and that's just in our back and
> front yards. 
> 
> .         Finally learned how annoying and incomprehensible I must have been
> at times as a teenager, thanks to my stepchildren. Nothing like kids to hold
> up a mirror.
> 
> .         Did the Oxfam Trailwalker (team walk of 100km within 48 hours) -
> though the final stage was closed due to bad weather so technically I only
> walked 86.5 km
> 
> .         Bid farewell to my beloved Nonna, my Italian grandmother. And
> became a supporter of the concept of assisted suicide, after watching her
> turn into a shell of her former life-embracing, laughing, generous loving
> self due to dementia, deafness, and blindness. I regret that she never met
> my daughter. They would have loved each other - I think they are alike in
> many ways.
> 
> .         Learned that "entree" in the US means the main meal, not the
> starter as it does down here
> 
> .         Discovered that in some places in Colorado, wearing a cowboy hat
> is not an ironic statement
> 
> .         Watched the second plane fly into the World Trade Centre live on
> TV after hearing a late-night radio news bulletin that I thought initially
> was a joke...and witnessed the start of the international terrorism age in
> the West (had terrorism so comprehensively crossed international borders
> before?)
> 
> .         Bought a block of land in the Victorian alpine area with my
> husband, and started planning our retirement together - what a wonderful
> feeling. Who knew that marriage could be this good?  Margaret's posts remind
> me to enjoy and give thanks for every precious moment while it lasts.
> 
>  
> 
> Hopefully the next decade is the one when I write that book that is lurking
> around inside me somewhere. Ha ha!
> 
>  
> 
> xx
> 
>