Au revoir, adios, arrivederci to 2017. I have never been so happy to see a year come to an end! I remember when Queen Elizabeth declared 1992 her annus horribilis, and I feel that way about 2017. My mom died, and friends lost loved ones and battled major illnesses. It seemed just as things were turning around, Hurricane Irma hit and damaged our home in Florida. I had lots of pity parties for poor me, but inevitably, I slapped myself out of it by remembering the most random things for which I was grateful.
First, thank you to the gentleman at Bopp Chapel who convinced me not to upgrade my mom’s casket to the fire engine red one. Yes, it was flashier and would have made quite the statement (read: Your daughter is crazy!), but I am glad we stuck with what my mom wanted.
Thank you to Nurses for You and BJC Hospice for being such kind caregivers and not only taking care of my mom, but also her children. You understood that our laughter was the way we cried, and your soothing words got us through very long days.
This year, I was treated to so much kindness from complete strangers, it was as if people knew I needed a little something extra. Really, I can’t tell you how many times I drove through Starbucks only to be told my coffee had already been paid for. It never happened before this year, and I suspect it will stop at year’s end. I am grateful to all of the friends I made in Ireland who grabbed my hand to dance, slapped my back when they found out I was a Fitzgerald, and made me realize that heaven does exist on earth.
I often write about my brothers and sister, but what you don’t know is that they all have been married forever to their original spouses! So thank you Mary, Pam, Cookie, Terrie and David for staying married to my siblings. I know they can be a difficult bunch. But more importantly, thank you for being more like sisters and brothers than sisters- and brothers-in-law. This year sucked so bad, I often would take to my bed, literally. I cannot thank enough my friends who would come into my house and lie in my bed with me until we were laughing so much, I realized everything was going to be just fine.
I am grateful to my husband Carey. We have been married a long time, but this year I have been really cranky, like more than 50 percent of the time. Thank you for not rolling your eyes or muttering under your breath, things I do to you.
My readers, well, thank you for reading this column. Some of you have even sent an email when you particularly enjoyed one. Most of you have not, but there is still time! Knowing I make you laugh or smile actually motivates me to sit down each week to write.
If you are wondering what’s up with the boldface type, I’ve always wanted to write a gossip column where I could bold the names of celebs, but I don’t know any. And truth be told, the people above are the ones who matter more to me than Kim or Kanye. Thank you for indulging me with my ‘gratefulness’ list. It gets me out of writing a lot of thank-you notes so I can focus on writing next year’s columns.
Contact Patty at phannum@townandstyle.com.
