I should be packing to be reunited with part of my family tomorrow, and here I sit. I used to pack a week ahead, but life has changed and my movements have become slow as well as my reactions. It’s been a ride.

I have a lot to be grateful for, I know, and this all involves people and dogs. I have been broken several times this year, and for every fracture, there has been someone to hold me and lend me a helping hand.

My best friend of 25 years passed, I lost a job, I almost lost my dad, I lost my home, my puppy and then I was served divorce. But in each moment, there has been someone to hold me, even from far away.

I agree with what a good friend said upon turning fifty, that this is the decade of friendship and relationships. I cannot think of anything more important now either as I face a new year of uncertainty. (Don’t we all?).

This may not be my year, but I’ve had good times too. Again, mostly friendships, and family have made me happy. I also met new people who have become dear friends, I’ve traveled, I’ve been consoled by Drew, my friends’ dog and was given a lovely home to live in when I had to leave the one I shared with my husband. I celebrated a friend’s birthday in Vegas, started working at USF with an amazing team and students, saw the whales in Monterrey, spent time with my friends in Spain and with my nieces and nephews, and for the first time I volunteered for a great cause.

I know this slowness in motion will soon be over and I will be able to pick up the pace and regain my enthusiasm. I will join the world and open those letters and e-mails that have gone unread for a while. This coming year I won’t ask for anything because I will simply focus on “The decade of friendship and family.”