Category: Celebrations

Dear 2012

It’s been so long since I’ve typed a blog post that sitting here doing “this” feels rather strange.  But here I am, nevertheless, getting back into the swing of blogging…finally:)

It’s only the end of February and 2012 has already proven to be quite the year.  So many things have happened, so many changes have taken place.  2011 ended and 2012 started with a big bang.  The adventure of a lifetime. Jetting off to the States with my best friend to see all the sights and sounds of Washington and New York and to most importantly spend New Years eve in Times Square.  This has long been a big dream of mine and I can not even begin to describe this experience to anyone.  It is overwhelming, amazing and now when I sit and look at the million of pictures we took I can not believe we were actually right there in the thick of things when it happened.  Such memories:)  It was not my first trip to the States, but as it was my friend’s I was lucky enough to once again experience some of the most amazing places and to experience some I had not yet seen.

Much shopping was done, plenty of fun was had and we came back with so many memories and experiences.  I look back and all I can do is smile.  I was also lucky enough to extend my stay in the US with another week to go and visit my brother and sister-in-law.  As many of you know they are expecting, and it was also during my trip that we found out I will be aunty to a little boy. I was also blessed enough to experience listening to his little heart heat and to feel him kick.  The emotion this brought, I can not even begin to explain.  I’m by no means broody or in any state of mind where I want my own.  But there was something that touched my heart so deeply that tears were very very near the surface when I heard that little beat.

Anyhoodle, enough with all the emotional stuff…I’ve included a few pictures of the holiday.  Between the 2 of us we took over a thousand and choosing only a few is hard and does not do justice to it.  But here they are never the less:)

At the Lincoln Memorial....being a tourist
I could get used to sitting in the Oval office

Giving Tiger some advice
Random bench in Central Park
I ❤ this city
Half frozen pond in Central Park... -11 will do that to you
Happy little family - Sis-in-law, bro and Charlie the dog
With my bro - even though his eyes are shut

Central Park
From the Empire state building
Happy new year!
Happy new year!!!!

Just a tad of the craziness that is Times Square on New Years Eve
Happy new year!!! Blessed 2012!!!!!!

Unfortunately, while 2012 started off well, I was greeted with a consultants worst nightmare when I came back.  Our investigation had finished and we had not yet been reassigned to a new one.  While I had no doubt that I would be reassigned, it did meant that I came back to 3 weeks of unemployment…..and in the consultant world no work = no pay.  It was just a TAD stressful, but thankfully all that has been resolved now, and February saw me returning to more regular (almost full) working hours.

But things weren’t all bad:) There were also a few really good things that happened along the way.  For one, I’ve finally received something I’ve been waiting for since October:) It is gorgeous and I love it to bits.

So my dearest 2012…we’ve gotten off to a fairly good and somewhat rocky start.  We’ve got 10 months left to make this the best year of my life.  Let’s do this!

Love
Ruby
xxxxx

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Dear other driver

Six years today….can you believe it? 6 YEARS!

At shortly after midnight (super early this morning) it was 6 years ago that you smashed into me that night.  I can’t believe it’s been that long, and at the same time there are days that I can’t believe it happened at all.  Although the scar on my leg serves as a pretty decent reminder when I do forget.  I’m sure you’ll be happy to know it looks a lot better these days:)

The sub-conscious mind is an amazing thing.  Every year around this time I hit a bit of a funk.  I feel kinda down, insecure, a little depro and generally a bit anxious.  I guess it’s understandable.  But every year I realise what time of the year it is a couple of days before the time.  This year I nearly missed it completely.  I haven’t even thought about it once until I was on my way home today and I tried to figure out why I was feeling the way I did.  Sure, it’s been a rough couple of days and I’ve been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster and I’ve been under sever pressure at work.  But I’m generally really good under pressure and even hectic emotional dilemmas rarely makes me feel this…BLAH.  And then as I drove up to a crossing and clenched my jaw just a tad when the car coming from my left hand side appeared not to be slowing down quite as quickly as I wanted him to it hit me.  Not the car….the realisation. Today marks the 6 year “anniversary” of our rather horrid car crash.  And while i might have forgotten I remembered at the same time…weird isn’t it?  I KNEW something was up…i just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

I’ve written you a letter on this here blog every year since it happened….well, since I’ve had the blog anyway:) It’s good to go back and read those posts and to see how I’ve dealt with things and how I’ve grown.  I’m happy, I’m good, I have a fabulous job and an amazing life, and I can’t imagine it being any different.  Sure, sometimes when I go through stressful times I have nightmares of the crash, sometimes I can’t help but hate the scars (even though they’re a lot less noticeable these days), sometimes I wonder at how things would have been different…but all of these are becoming less and less and less with each passing year.  And this fact makes me happy.

I don’t know where you are or what happened to you after all of this.  Quite frankly I don’t want to.  There was a time (especially in the two months after the crash when I was pretty much almost bedridden) that the thought of you made me so angry.  But no more.  These things happen and I’m still here.  You’ve probably long forgotten the whole accident…and who can really blame you.  You got off without much more than a tiny little scratch, not exactly something that’ll stick in your mind for the rest of your life. But if you do remember it at all, I hope you’ll know that I’m OK, better than OK in fact.  And even though I didn’t believe it at the time, I’ve come to realise that life really does go on, that I have an amazing Protector and that even scars are loved by your loved ones because they are a part of who you are, and that makes them beautiful.  So this year I refuse to treat this as a way of remembering the bad.  This is a celebration of my life…and when I look at who I am and what I’ve got and the people around me, how can I not celebrate and be happy?  I am truly blessed.

Regards,

Ruby

P.S.  My lovelies…pls don’t drink and drive…it’s just not worth it.

My dearest Parental Unit

Today marks the 35th celebration of the day that you got married. 35 YEARS!!! I consider this to be an exceptional feat in the times we live in.  Our world is filled with broken families who couldn’t survive the challenges that being married to one person for the rest of your life brings, and yet here you stand, 35 years later, still in love, still discovering each other, still enjoying each other and still working towards making your union even more perfect.

I look around at the families of friends, colleagues and family and I realise that I am in an a very blessed position.  Very few of the people I know were able to dodge the bullet of a broken home.  Not only are my parents still married, but they are happily married, which is certainly something to celebrate.

Thank you so much for the beautiful example that you have set for my brother and I.  Thank you for putting me in a position where I can believe in a fairy tale marriage and know that I too can have that.  Thank you for loving each other so much that you faced whatever hard times there might have been and grew into the future together.  I look at the two of you and I smile.  How rare is it that 35 years on you are still holding hands when you walk, delivering little kisses randomly, become completely miserable when you are away from each other for longer than a day and consider each other your best friend.

So here’s a toast to the two of you.  Congratulations on accomplishing something this amazing, and may there be many, many many more of these.  Happy 35th anniversary.

Your loving and devoted daughter
Ruby
xxxx

A celebration

CuteToo cute…caught them on camera while Daddy letter was being all soppy with Mommy letters:)

FavouriteOne of my favourites! I took this picture when we were at the Victory Falls.  It was just so adorable, the two of them walking side by side under the umbrella on this little path, completely unaware of the rest of the world