As another year comes to a close, I think the general agreement is that 2024 was one for the record books. Not only were the previous two years shocking because they were with a boyfriend, but also this one is even more so because it's with a husband. It goes to show that any year can never be predicted - you may bid an old one with all its highs and lows good-bye but a new one waits with just as many peaks and valleys. You just never know what's on the other side of them.

After the clock has struck midnight and a new set of days begins, I will, without a doubt, be even more reflective of what has transpired in my life. I was, as anyone could tell you, adamant that I would never move to Texas. I would never leave California. I would never....I would never....such a statement of fact. But there was this puzzle, this jigsaw piece that I never saw coming. As always with me, I wanted my friends to be a part of whatever was happening and while some relationships grew stronger as the puzzle came into focus, others that I never expected, went out with the tide. Does anyone know what moves the ocean to ebb and flow? How it moves up the shore, sometimes violently, sometimes calmly, but always it is in constant movement. I've always lived near the ocean, I've loved the sound of it since I was a kid. It calms me, keeps me grounded and makes me realize that there is so much more out there to discover. I may, for the first time, not live near the ocean, but like the sea, I am in constant movement. When the tide goes back out and returns, is it the same when it first reached the shore?

Like the tide, over the years, my life's ocean has brought friends and family in and out of my life. While some of the ending of those relationships were because the bond between us was meant to exist in a particular time and place, other final punctuations have taken me by surprise. I try to never take my friends for granted and during our wedding reception, when John and I looked out at the tables, I was over come with emotion at how many of those that I have met over the years had come in with the tide. I think, in a way, when you do something so out of the ordinary, so out of what has always been between a group of friends some are convinced you've lost your mind. You fall into a category that makes them more comfortable with their decision to not return with the tide.

All of these thoughts were coming and going over these last few weeks, but they came to the forefront today when my cousin sent me a meme. That there are those that love me, those that love to be around me and then those who love what I can do for them. I can never truly understand what causes what looked like a solid friendship to end. I can only be true to myself. Since I left Boston when I was 24, I have done just that.  As I turn 60 next year - 60 - let that sink in - I have one friend who reaches that milestone with me and has been with me for more than half my life. He is the embodiment of friendship. Together, we are the best combination. But, let me be clear, I have not, as so many others have done - married their best friend. The beginning of Limontella is what we said it was - a Limontella Orginale. There is no one like us, no combination like it has come before and nothing like it will come after.

So, the ball will drop on another year, but it will not sink to the bottom of the sea. It will ride the movement of each wave. It will be unpredictable and it will continue to draw puzzling shapes in the sand. I hope it's just as special to those who ride the waves with me. And, yes, we can all put our feet in the sand together.