New Year’s Eve 2018 was unique. I said goodbye to a pivotal year in my life and greeted a new decade, not knowing where it might lead. I was also on board a plane with oldest son Scott, bound for a tour of Egypt. The trip had been planned months before, as we deliberately planning to be airborne and far away from the prior year’s loss.
You see, this New Year’s Eve had marked a year since I greeted the coming year of 2019 with Beluga vodka and caviar.
Alone.
My husband Michael was in the hospital recovering from a second surgery. I had come home from visiting him that 2018 New Year’s Eve. In a groggy state, he had squeezed my hand and said, “I love you.” I promised to return the next morning, New Year’s Day, with some black-eyed peas for good luck. I kissed him on the forehead, told him I loved him and urged peaceful rest.
Michael died in my arms the next morning. I knew he was very ill, but the death was still a shock. Almost immediately, I was gifted with friends who cared, a prolonged visit from my sister–and I managed to survive the fog of those first few months. I emerged with a life chapter closed, burdened with neither anger nor guilt. Mike and I were gifted with 36 years of marriage and during that time he was loving, loyal, generous, kind–and very obstinate.
The trip to Egypt was magical. It was a bucket list journey that presented pyramids, sphinxes, mummies, along with ancient memories and mysteries. We rode camels, sailed the Nile River and visited small towns before ending the trip at Anwar Dam. However, I did not return home to San Diego with Scott; rather, I flew to Cypress and then to Israel to meet my my new love and life gift, Steve Thompson, who had unexpectedly captured my heart a few months earlier. Scott and I had planned the trip months before, and Steve had already agreed to meet clients in Jerusalem–so timing could not have been more perfect.
And that timing–and love–perfected and grew over time.
We were married September 19, 2020 in the backyard of Steve’s home in Reno, where we now live–and joke about leaving “Taxifornia”–as he calls it.
A new life chapter was begun. We just celebrated our 4th New Year’s Eve. And we are headed to Kathmandu and Bhutan in a few months. –Roberta Murphy Thompson
