Dear (((Liz)))! Happy, Happy Birthday to you! Another year older and another year wiser as the saying goes! Your grandson will have a great time in Hawaii, and you will have the time to do what you want and to relax. I think going out for Christmas Dinner is a wonderful idea. Leave the cooking and cleaning up to someone else. I am going to my daughter’s for Christmas Day and then driving home on Boxing Day. I haven’t been back to the country since I left Danny, so it’s a bit uncomfortable for me, but I do want to see my daughter and the grandgirls. My oldest granddaughter was here yesterday making iced shortbread cookies and I ate far too many of them. I also ate far too much on our trip to Disneyland. With the new year in sight, will come new resolve as far as eating healthy. It’s great to hear that your relationship with your daughter has come such a long way. Relationships are always works in progress, and mother/daughter relationships are always the most complicated. From what you mentioned earlier in the year, I am not surprised that your nephew ended up in jail. It’s just too bad that it had to be so close to Christmas. But like you say, we all need to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. Hopefully your nephew will “see” that what he’s doing isn’t working well for him, and will decide to take another path in life. It sure has been an eventful year for you, both good and bad, but you’ve managed to stay sane through it all, and you are an inspiration to me and I’m sure countless others. Carole
