Whilst driving home, I was listening to the BBC Radio 4 'pick of the year'. One interview was particularly moving. The subject, a lady in Devon, was describing how she'd cared for her late husband in the final stages of Alzheimer's. At the worst moments he became quite violent, and on one occasion she had to dash out of the bedroom and hold the door shut with all her strength to avoid being done serious physical harm. As the interviewer empathised, and wondered how she'd been able to cope with such conditions. She said, quite simply, "I loved him all the while. When we married, all those years ago, I promised to love and care for him till death should part us, and that's what I did"
It may be a bit far-fetched, but I saw some link or parallel between that heart-wrenching tale and the plans that many have fulfilled for themselves within the last few minutes. That woman was going to carry out her pledge to love her husband to the very last minute; we have seen out all that 2011 had to offer right up to the very last minute. Not that many of us have seen much love from 2011! But rather than give up mid-evening and retreat to bed, hoping to wake up refreshed in a new and better year, we brave ones have hung on until the bitter end, to give 2011 a firm kick into the past, and to be among the first to welcome 2012 with a warm handshake as we offer a brief prayer that all those fearful and unfinished matters that have troubled us recently may be brought to a favourable conclusion in the months to come.
So here's to a Wonderful New Year!
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