Crazy end to the year/Happy holidays

I can't help but think that spraining my foot the first week in October led to a crazy spiral of events to close out the year. I was pretty much out of commission for 6 weeks or so, while my foot healed - although I was able to ride once or twice, as long as I took it easy on anything other than walking (which, for Promise's sake, I need to do anyway). But, I wasn't able to go to the gym or even walk the puppy...and prior to that, I had been going to the gym 3-5 times a week and had lost 20 lbs. since January.

When the time changed in November, I told my foot "Too bad, so sad. If you're going to be sore, fine, but I can't take being stationary anymore." I decided to take advantage of the change and started getting up at 5 a.m. to walk Jazzy. At first, it helped a lot, and resulted in a calmer puppy at the end of the day, after being crated while we're at work. And then she started to get worse after our walks. I experimented with not walking her to see if she was any less of a beast, and she was. So, I learned that walking her at night was a better option than walking her, crating her again while I got ready for work and then having her out while I checked email, fed her and crating her again when I left for work. We currently do 2-3 miles a couple times a week, mixing in just having fun and walking and/or jogging with working on obedience.

Then, the night before Thanksgiving, my grandmother was taken to the ER with pneumonia. They did not admit her, but instead, took her back to hospice with a hefty round of antibiotics. She went downhill quickly, was unable to get out of bed and as time went on, was in quite a bit of pain. She passed away peacefully on December 13. While I am very sad that she's no longer here, I am also relieved that she is not in pain anymore, and that she isn't fighting anymore. I'm grateful to have gotten 20 months or so beyond what they estimated when she was diagnosed with renal cancer just over 3 years ago -- and also to have had that time to prepare for this emotionally. She was a wonderful, kind person and I have many amazing memories from years past that I will always treasure.

The week before my grandmother passed, I had accepted a new job, and gave my notice the day before...what an awkward situation that presented! I had too much to finish during my resignation period, including wrapping up final details for our Annual Meeting, to take more than a couple of hours of bereavement time. She would have wanted me to carry on, and since my initial breakdown after finding out, I have been relatively fine. Random things that make me think of her make me sad, but not to the point of being emotional. I know she's in a better place, and that knowledge helps a LOT.

I also know she was thrilled (and lucid for the first time in weeks) when I told her about the new job. So, that gave me some comfort as well.

In the midst of being laid up with injury and the stress of watching my grandmother go slowly and then ever increasingly downhill, I managed to put back on 10 lbs. of the weight I had worked so hard to lose during 2011. I've given myself some clearance until Christmas is over and plan to get back into the routine of going to the gym starting again next week, while I am temporarily unemployed! This weight CANNOT stick around...it's not welcome here!!!

Things are looking up. I don't know if it's in my stars or not, but with the acceptance of this new job, it seems like all the other little things that had been going awry have finally started to fall into place and sorting themselves out.

I am looking forward to starting 2012 off anew on several different levels.

And, my new job is MUCH closer to the barn (about 15 miles!), so I have renewed hope that I will be able to trek up there after work once in a while, in addition to trying to be more religious about going on the weekends. Unfortunately for Promise, she's been sort of on the back burner since the last time I posted. I'm sure she's happy being a horse, but I miss her and can't wait to see her again.

I hope all of you, your families and your critters, have a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy new year.