Farewell 2012, the year of clinging to the cup half full

When my husband pokes loving fun at my national roots, he often lambasts cheerful optimism.  Bloody Americans, with all their "have a nice days", Disney outlooks and need for happy endings.  Harrumph.

Thank God, I say.  If it weren't for that outlook, 2012 would have been a miserable year, and this blog might have been deeply gloomy.

I focused on the positives.  And there were plenty.  The Jubilee and the Olympics, of course, made England the finest place in the world to live this year.  We had a great holiday in Virginia, Washington and Maryland in the spring. We moved into our dream home in August.  We took in a delightful round of cooking classes, operas and fine restaurants.  And best of all, there is that delightful pronoun ... we.  My first full year going through life with another half to complete me and make it all worth while.

Behind all of that, however, was the year of bad health.  And, as I've always understood but never experienced, if you don't have your health, everything else is problematic.  You can work around financial challenges, job issues, family stresses and the host of other irritations that plague everyday life, but if your body isn't working, it subverts every moment of your existence.

I haven't dwelled upon it in these pages, but make no mistake:  chemotherapy is a bitch.  It turns you into an old woman before your time and ... the thing I didn't expect ... recovery takes as long as, if not longer than, the treatment.  Let's not forget mine was complicated by a serious bout of pneumonia.  That lingers beyond expectations, too.  Eight months after the last chemo dose I am just starting to feel capable of the movement and energy levels necessary for real recovery.

So good riddance, 2012.  Bring on the new year.  Regular exercise, a serious return to Weight Watchers, much fruit and veg, cutting down on that alcohol.  Sure, everyone makes the health and fitness resolution today.  But I, with the spectre of its loss just behind me, have the will to take it more seriously than most.

The sun is out, and we're off for a long walk.  Here's to 2013.