I had a birthday last week, and have decided that my rant of the day will be a little selfish. I want to reflect back a little, to the changes and events of the last year. I am not terribly great about dates, in some cases, so I might not get terribly date obsessed, but there have definitely been some notable happenings, in my 44th year on this planet. I’d like to think, possibly, that some of them many even be made interesting, to those of you who weren’t along for the ride. That will, of course, be my challenge.

There were some losses, as is usually the case. We lost a great man, and an amazing pet. No, the uncle was not the pet, keep up here people. Gilles was a father figure for my husband when he was growing up, and stood in that role when we got married. I am very grateful that one of his fondest memories was a visit he made out here in the last years of his life. We always loved having him here, and he will be sadly missed.

I have already taken a great deal of time and effort to introduce those of you who didn’t know Chloe, to our baby, and I know those of you who did know her, will continue to miss her, every time you visit. It is still very very hard, and there are days when something tiny will trigger the memory that she is no longer here. Her presence is always felt, but also very noticeably missing. Her bed still sits at the end of ours, and sometimes I still almost trip over her. I have Animal Planet now, which I could never have had when she was with us. She jumped at all the moving animals on TV, and every time I watch, I actually miss yelling at her to “Get”. The one huge negative that we are dealing with, is fighting with the insurance company. We have had pet insurance since we got her, because vet bills are exorbitant sometimes. They are denying us a large portion of her final care bill. Accept our condolences on your loss, but we are going to screw you as you go, cause we can’t get your money anymore. That could be an entire post in and of itself! I won’t bore you any further with the details, except to say, don’t use Petsecure for pet insurance. I have said it once, and I will say it till the day I die, if I like what you are doing, I will tell the world, and suffice to say, if I don’t I will also tell the world, or at least my little part of it.

There were also some very exciting, positive events in the last year. My son married his very beautiful bride, August 1st, so they are about to have their first anniversary here pretty quickly. That was a truly beautiful day, albeit the 33C temperature, necessitated my corset being tightened a couple of times, but that was a minor annoyance. Mel is a wonderful addition to our family, and I feel very validated as a parent, that Jeremy is considered a wonderful addition to hers. They both looked amazing, the wedding was magical, and I made everyone cry in my speech. I also managed to keep up with the young kids on the dance floor, and amazed a couple of the groomsmen with my ability to belt out the latest tunes. Patting my own back just there, and rightly so. I love that I am still welcomed in my kids’ generation, and liked by their friends. I loved being the cool Mom, and I especially love being KWLNANA now. For those of you who couldn’t figure out what my vanity plate reads, it means COOL NANA, because I am!

Of course, with the wedding being in New Brunswick, I would be remiss to mention my visits home, this past year. I was home for two weeks in July/August, and then again for a month in Jan/Feb. Both times included visits with people that I only get to see twice a year, and they always make me happy, and sad when they end. My brother’s kids are growing so fast, but they still love to see Aunt Cindy coming. Owen, who will be 5 here in a couple weeks, was drawing me a picture, the night I spent at their house, and just out of the blue told me “I really love you, “Ant” Cindy”. That touched my heart. I have lived in Alberta for 7 years, so he was born while I was here, but it is an excellent statement to the fact that quality time spent with loved ones, can make up for a lack of quantity. I am grateful for that, as I am soon to embark on an entirely new leg of my journey.

One of the biggest and most exciting events, is still ongoing. We learned that Mel and Jeremy are expecting in November! That is a big deal, made even larger by the knowledge that they are about to give me something I have wanted for …well, EVER! I have two sons, I adore, and two grandsons I couldn’t love more, and now I am finally getting my girl. Wow! I have done trucks, and action figures, and cars, and blue, it is now time for Barbies, and dolls, and dress up, and PINK! OK, so the day after we found out that we are having an Ava, I went out and bought pink. She will be a spoiled little girl, but she will be surrounded with love. I do fear that our relationship won’t be as close as the other grandkids, until I think back to those innocent words from my nephew. It is going to take work, of course, to make sure this little girl knows her Nana, as well as her cousins do, but it will and has to be done. I love her already, and don’t get to meet her for another four months! I am thrilled that it’s a girl, but more importantly, that she appears to be growing and developing, and healthy, above all else.

I am going to take just a few minutes right here, to acknowledge the impact of the internet on my past year. To be entirely truthful, it has been almost all I do since I lost my job in November. I didn’t go into that in my revelations today, because it isn’t worth going into, very deeply. I loved my job, sometimes, and I hated it, often. Enough said. Next! Oh yes, the internet. I have had the greatest opportunity to add some amazing people to my circle of friends, through social networking sites, and they have been my strength and my inspiration, sometimes daily. I would be completely remiss if I didn’t name one special person. The reason I have this forum, and the reason people can delve into my ramblings, if they choose to, is because of one, very talented individual, who will hate having the spotlight turned on him. Thank you David, for all your work on my site, and the support you show me. I could go on and on, but he is already red-faced and embarrassed, so I will let him off the hook. If you need any kind of computer help, web design, and the list goes on, email me and I will hook you up! And, that’s all I have to say about that…

To those of you I didn’t name, personally, still know that I am grateful and appreciative of all you do. For the laughter, and the tears, but especially for being there, to comment on my silly status updates, to send me a ton of birthday greetings, to agree with my rantings, AND disagree with them. I know I am not ALWAYS right, and you might want to make note that I just admitted that. Thank you for being in my life, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly!