Happy New Year!

To those of you who read my blog regularly, my apologies for being "silent" for so many weeks. I know I haven't gone that long without a blog post since the inception of this blog (as a few of you have gently pointed out) and I hope to never go that long again. The month of December just seemed to get away from me.

As many of you know, my mom passed away in April and so this was the first Christmas without her. Her birthday was also at the beginning of December, so the whole month was filled with missing her, adjusting to being without her during her favorite holiday and trying to find ways to honor her. I rode the waves of grief as best I could and fortunately, found some sweet ways to feel close to her as well.

Christmas Day, I listened to the radio on the way to and from my dad's house, hoping she'd let me know she was around by getting "In The Air Tonight" to play on the radio . . . and my disappointment at not hearing the song was erased the next day and the day after that when the song came on each time I got in the car. :-)

It wasn't a terrible month, there were definitely some bright spots here and there. Highlights of the last several weeks include:

- Witnessing the bravery and courage of a doggy client who had to have her arm amputated, who seems more worried about how her parents are feeling than she is about getting around on three legs. She is a beautiful inspiration and just such a love. She is planning to show the world that she is the same strong, fabulous girl whether she has 3 or 4 legs.

- Hearing stories from my clients about how they are talking to their animals and how they are seeing the heart warming evidence that their pets are understanding (and appreciating) everything they are being told.

- Having the cat of one of my human clients tell me that he can send healing energy to his mom just like I do . . . and finding out from her afterwards that whenever she starts to not feel well, she's notices that he immediately comes and lays on her (and that she does feel better soon after).

- Having a daffodil come up a couple days after Christmas, which, for those of you who know about daffodil bulbs, they aren't supposed to come up until the spring, but every year since Lucky passed away, I have had at least one daffodil make an early appearance in my backyard around Christmas.

- And finally, a visit from Chester, my squirrel friend, who hadn't been around for weeks, who showed up the day after my water heater decided to give out, to remind me that there was still much to smile about.

So, Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all are feeling ready for the year ahead! My hope is that it is a magical year for everyone, filled with more of what you want, hope and wish for . . . and that each day is filled with love, laughter, peace and joy!