Merry Mondays

This is the last installment of for 2010. I'm going to resurrect because he's getting antsy to get back in the news.

I hope you enjoyed this column and I look forward to starting it back up again next year.

Today is special because while I'm enjoying the warmth of Christmas goodness and the glow of the lights on the tree, it's really a time when I should be sad and vacant. As you've read, 2010 has been difficult for my family. In March we lost a dear family friend – my father's lifelong compadre. In May my dad's sister unexpectedly died in her home. A couple weeks ago my tough-as-nails southern grandmother died after nearly a year in a local nursing home.

My father and I spent a couple hours talking about all this last night. We each teared up a few times. One tale that still bends my resolve to move on is the story of Val, my grandmother's nurse for the past 10 months. Each day that she worked, Val would come into my grandmother's room at the nursing home and dress her in the same color that Val was wearing that day. They were a pair and Val asked my father and aunt to let her know when my grandmother, Inez, died so she could take care of "Miss Nezzie's" final care needs.

Val even showed up at my grandmother's funeral wearing pink, the same color my grandmother was dressed in.

That story warms my hollow heart today as I find myself thinking and dreaming of my grandparents daily, remembering their dedication to me.

So while it's not a merry Monday, it's definitely a manageable Monday. I'm looking forward to the hope of a new year.