A Fresh Start

So it is 2012...I don't think I have ever been happier to see a year be in the past. All I have left of my immediate family is my sister and  brother. My family may be small but our hearts are huge and our love is all encompassing. We still pick on each other but it is all in jest (at least I hope it is.) We have a bond that will never be broken. We are all the product of Frank and Ann Leach and that in itself is something to be mighty proud of.

My brother has definitely taken over the role as patriarch of the family. My sister is the one that amazes both me and my brother and I am the red headed step child  they both love and take care of. (HEY, they don't call you  the baby of the family for nothing.)

For twenty years I sailed along in calm seas. When my ship hit the ice berg I had more life vests flung at me than I could ever imagine. I tried to stay positive, failing miserably at some points but  pulled through by  the grace of God and the love of family and tons of friends. I don't mean just recent friends although they helped too. I mean people I went to grammar school with. I mean people I went to high school and college with. I mean people that  never even met me but read my ramblings I call "My Blog."

Friends from my daughter's high school and band, friends from  the Western Sizzler I got fired from. Relatives that I only recently met. Friends from the new place I work.

To be loved is a tremendous and powerful feeling. Over the past year and a half I have lost twenty pounds and gained  more gray hair and wrinkles than I ever dreamed I would at the age of fifty one.

On the other hand I have gained the knowledge of realizing "Love is all you need."

If God loves you...You are taken care of. If family loves you, you are blessed. If friends love you, you are lucky.

I have constantly TRIED to pay it forward...even  if in baby steps. I put more money into red buckets this year while they were dinging their bell, gave more "Toys to Tots" than I ever have and even given hand outs at intersections in downtown Atlanta.

I sometimes feel ashamed  I have needed so much help...Then when I really stop and think about it,  I feel grateful to be loved by so many.

Your love has been a blessing, your love has gotten us through. Your love has been an inspiration to me.

Never think for a second that  I am not grateful for everyone who has so generously , anonymously and openly helped me through these times.

2011 is behind me (with all of your help) and with God as my witness  "2012 is the Year of the Cotton."

My youngest son is an avid fan of  Dr. Seuss and I used to think he was just tripping until I started to listen to him. I went back and read his books again and realized,  this guy  may have not been a big fan of little kids but he was a genius with words that ring true even into adulthood.

So to my Blog readers I say,  by way of Dr. Seuss ...

"So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."

I hope my Blog inspires others, I know it inspires ME. It's nice to have a place to go. It's nice to have people listen and empathize. You know what? It's just nice to have people love you.

I have struggled these past few months to stay positive but with tons of help and a slap in the head to myself I have survived.

"It's a troublesome world. All the people who're in it are troubled with troubles almost every minute. You ought to to be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you're lucky you're not." Quote from Dr. Seuss.

Til next  time...COTTON