Happy New Year

How many times do you hear this phrase?  

I lost both of my parents in the past few weeks so happy is not something that I am really feeling a whole lot of right now. 

In a way, today has been harder for me than Christmas was because 2025 is a year they will never see. It is one realization that life keeps moving along and we have to find a way to make a new life without them.  

Every time I see their names on anything I feel like sobbing, but seeing their names followed by the birthdate-death date indicator is like a cold slap in the face.  I stare at it and think to myself, "there is no way I am really actually seeing this."

Paul F. Olson March 20, 1935 - November 23, 2024

Mary E Olson September 14, 1940 - December 16, 2024

The shock is unreal.  

As I said to my sister, our parents were our anchor.  When my dad died, we still had half our anchor. Now, we are anchorless - flailing in the water.  

This has been the hardest thing I've ever gone through and I am grateful for my faith and family.  Without them I'd be lost.