I, for one, am not sorry to see this year come to a close. For me the year brought something I never experienced before, an anxiety disorder accompanied by panic attacks. One of the panic attacks was bad and two were much shorter and less severe. Regardless of severity, they are something I'd like never to do again.
Nothing literally "came apart" for me this year, but a lot of healing was needed. It came in fits and starts, and was marked by regression as well as improvement. At this point I feel like the anxiety is over, my happiness level is back to normal, and I am moving forward.
A big part of my "therapy" came in the form of quilting, a refuge for me. The level of required concentration focused my attention, pulling me away from the swirl of questions, self-doubt, and grief.
As I quilted, I attended to relationships with several other people, as I wrote about here. And while I did, my relationship with my husband was put on hold to some degree. The fabric was not frayed, the seams were not split, no rips have been found. But once I finished quilts that emotionally involved other people, it was time to turn my focus back where it belonged, on my husband and on me. And most importantly, on us together.
