Good Bye 2008

Well in a few short hours 2008 will be gone forever, I would like to add good riddance but I won't for I would like to think I have spiritually grown past that, and while it has been emotionally the hardest year I have endured in many, and an incident that happened on Christmas that affected our whole family really put the icing on the cake so to speak, yet I have also been Blessed as well.. so I will list a few of them here and be comforted by the fact that Hecate looks after her own.

My son married his sweetheart and he grew up so much.
I became a Nana for the first time to my wee grandson - Corben James William
My daughter moved home temporarily and I got to spend a wonderful 5 months with her, before we found out we were moving Interstate.
I truly accepted I am a Daughter of the Goddess as I recognised Hestia and Hecate working in my life.
I/we received what we needed, when I stopped struggling and said thank you for what I ALREADY had.
Returning to the country of my birth I realised my ties where no longer there and I was free to move on.
I also learnt that I don't need to feel guilty and keep people in my life who treat me or mine badly.

Before I close this last post for 2008, I would like to share something with you all... It is a story of Cherokee Wisdom which helped me put the last year in perspective.
There was an Indian Chief who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest.., in turn.., to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the Winter, the second in the Spring, the third in Summer, and the youngest son in the Fall.When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.The second son said 'no' it was covered with green buds and full of promise.The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it's Winter, you will miss the promise of your Spring, the beauty of your Summer, the fulfillment of your Fall.Moral:
Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest. Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come.

As 2008 closes it's doors and 2009 dawns for us all, May the Goddess hold each and everyone of you close and her Blessings be bountiful to, you and yours. May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night and a smooth road all the way to your door.