Looking back and looking ahead

I got a Thanksgiving card from my sister in Texas whose house burned to the ground in the pre-dawn hours last April and they lost everything.   It was miraculous that both she and her husband and their dog got out and survived with no lasting injuries.   Our mother,  who was being cared for just down the road,  died in March and I was not able to travel to visit her since becoming disabled myself last fall.    

She writes, "This has been a tough year for all of us but especially for you!   We have a lot to be thankful for and I am thankful that you are going to be okay and that we are alive.   Next year will be better."

Yes I am thankful for all those things and more.   We are both fighters for the right things, and always will be.   

Looking forward,  I intend to continue to sew and create interesting things, and will blog about it.   My thanks to all of you who have made my life and my mental state better over the past year by leaving comments, writing me messages and even phoning me.     Sadly,  the internet has become a playground for individuals hiding behind a false personae who use it to play games like spoiled children.  I've decided not to let people like that bother me, and to keep my blog public.  


I want to share with you what my special friend from Canada sent me today.   She is one who has helped me through some tough times. 


What Is Success?

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
     and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
     and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave this world a better place whether
     by a healthy child, a garden patch
     or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier
     because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.
                               Ralph Waldo Emerson