My 2011 Holiday letter

Most of my "blogs" are really essays; this post is truly a blog--a summing up of the year for all my friends, including the ones on PNN for whom I don't have email addresses.

Each year I try to find a theme to the year’s events–a connecting thread–for my holiday letter, as in “The year of the— .”
    Well, I think this year it found itself as I began to think about a year filled with random joys and sorrows, worries and pain, but some fun and golden days. I’m going to skip most of the usual family rundown. My family has become so huge, most of you don’t even know who they are by name, and if I brag about one, I have to brag about all twenty of them. Let’s just say the number stayed stable, and I got to see all the five great-grands at least once. And I’d just as soon forget the falls, injuries to hands and knee, trips to the ER and one hospitalization for gastroenteritis–the point is, I survived, and managed to have many stellar times in between.
    All you really need to know about the year is that I made a difficult decision not to uproot myself and move to Massachusetts, but to stay here near my dear old (and new) friends, the Hudson River, the Walkway Over the Hudson, my beloved writing groups, my amazing aide, my wonderful cooking and shopping assistant, and all my medical people and resources five minutes up the road. Daughter Lisa and her new husband Fran’s move put them much nearer, so it is easier to get to each other now. The worst of the problems in my building ended with the eviction of a couple of tenants. Now again I love living here, with its gorgeous park-like grounds for walking and photo-taking, so when I realized I was just too tired and decrepit to face a move and a new life, I was able to accept it.
    Which brings me to the theme of the year. As you know, I blog on the Elderstorytelling site, http://www.ronnibennett.typepad.com/elderstorytelling/, about once a week. Between responses to that, to my old page on PNN, (no longer active but still readable at http://lynamber.pnn.com/10307-the-front-page ), and on Facebook, it has begun to dawn on me that there is a need for and a shortage of elders as role models for “keepin’ on keepin’ on”– leading active, meaningful lives, in spite of pain and disability. I hear that from many people, younger ones especially, who tell me I am an inspiration and a mentor to them (and believe me, my circle of friends includes several other candidates for stardom in this field–I’m not alone). This year I am being filmed and taped as part of a documentary on people in their 70's and 80's dealing positively and creatively with aging. So my feeling of obligation to be that person has increased, and, recently, I had an epiphany: This IS my purpose in life in this home stretch!
    And there is the title for 2011's newsletter: The year that I found my new and final purpose in life! I certainly had no problem knowing what my purpose was when raising children–there was never a question. Nor when I was singing for my supper for 45 years; nor when I was churning out my three books. But the last few years I have been feeling a bit purposeless, unable to just relax and play with my photography, writing, and reading. All my life I have felt I should be accomplishing something all the time-- “devils nippng at my heels.” My goal is to banish the little buggers, yet still fulfill my newly-realized purpose.
    So, that, my dear friends, is where I am at the end of 2011, eagerly looking toward another year of living, loving, doing and just being. I wish for you a glowing year with good health, good appetites, and good health coverage! I’ll be donating the money I saved on stamps to one of the environmental or humanitarian causes I support, as I have for years.
    I’m enclosing a few favorite photos from this past year–of course, I took thousands, so, if you’d like to look at more, you can do so at https://picasaweb.google.com/114151652976617629600/20111216# Just click on the latest album, click on slideshow to see those all enlarged, then go back up to “Lyn Burnstine’s photos” and it will show you ALL of the albums that you can view one at a time, if you'd like.

Peace and love,
Lyn