Do you know when you get into a situation where the only thing you can do is just react like you've been hit with a 2 x 4 and be totally gosmacked? Totally, utterly, completely gobsmacked?

Well there has been a few times this has happened to me and every time it's happened, it was caused by a friend doing something so completely extraordinary and surprising that I'm rendered speechless.

I won't go into what rendered me speechless but I will say it had something to do with AUSXIP's 15th Anniversary and in addition to be completely honoured, I was humbled by my friends and their actions. It was a very personal gift but I needed to share the emotional impact.

We all have days when we are feeling down or somethings goes screwy in your day. It becomes so overwhelming that you want to scream and you just put one foot in front of the other, breath and move forward.

Then there are days when your joy knows no bounds and if you were any more joyous it would send you into the stratosphere and beyond.

Somewhere between those two emotions is where I'm at normally. There are a few days when the joy is so great that I have to pinch myself to see if I'm really having such a great time!

On a personal level it's been a mixed year; like everyone else there are downs and there are ups. I lost my beloved kitty Zoe who passed away in May unexpectedly that truly tore my heart to shreds but I also had an extraordinary year in other areas. One doesn't make up for the other but that's life. It can give you extraordinary sadness and then extraordinary joy.

What I wish for people is to have the joy, the laugher, the friendships that I have enjoyed over the last 15 years. May you have the best and be surrounded by people who love you, who care and who want to see a smile on your face. May you be the one to do that to your friends and the joy you get from seeing the joy on their face is the payoff.

It is far better to give than to receive as we are often told and this is the truth.

As the end of the year approaches, I wish for everyone to have the love of friends in their lives.

Happy Holidays folks!

MaryD