After having been diagnosed last December with a faulty aortic valve and an aortic root
aneurysm February's open heart surgery went by in a blink of an eye. It's mid boggling to think of all the out pouring of love from so many friends to help me heal back to living a active life.After a weeks stay at the hospital I celebrated being alive with a birthday gathering on March 4th. I vaguely remember it through the fog of anesthesia and pain medication but I do remember being overwhelmed with love.
Only a few weeks after that we had to put our beloved yellow Labrador, Cody, to sleep. He had a full life but his aging body was giving out and John's baby left for the dog park in the sky. That
same month our little angel Athena was diagnosed with malignant melanoma cancer. She had to have one of her toes amputated. We were lucky to have her back at home after losing Cody.I was lucky enough to have my dear friend David Browning invite me to hawaii to recouperate. It was a blessing to be on a beach and in the ocean surrounded by natures healing powers and Life progressed as I recovered from open heart surgery and got back to work doing massage.
In May I went to Palm springs to stay with, a now former friend, who decided that we couldn't remain friends. It was his choice and I was fine with that. I don't want to be a burden to anyone or be in the way of anyones progress in life. But I was fortunate enough that the Universe was working in it's mysterious ways and my best friend Kent was house sitting that same weekend. We decided to go look at houses. Kent was looking at the possibility of buying in Palm Springs. The housing market was crashing and the prices were amazing.
Where I returned to San Francisco I told John about the housing opportunties and we decided to go down to Palm Springs to look at what our options were. We started bidding on that first outing. And after the second trip the beginning of July we found the house that would prove to be a gathering point this Holiday season and will be for many more celebrations to come.
This summer was a great opening to forge some lasting friendships. I met some wonderful new clients that fast became friends. I have gotten to know Brett Conway, a very talented ballet dancer with Alonzo King's Ballet here in San Francisco. Joe Pacetti from Dallas who is an amazing and generous man with a heart of Gold.
Another opening that has happened this year was sharing the reading of Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth". This book has made an amazing impact on so many people including John as well as a dear man Ross Hurston and a slew of other friends. If you haven't read this book I recommend it to everyone along with the web class on Oprah.com. The classes are a MUST to more fully enhance the books message!
I went to London in July and August with my friend David Browning. He is so generous this man is. I love him dearly and I want everyone to know how special a friend he has been. That trip was amazing. I met a new friend Andy Gawthorpe and had the chance to see my dear friend James Wilcox. A true gentle-man! He is so peaceful to be around. I have to thank Gloria and Richard again for letting David and I stay at their flat while in London.
The end of August was a busy time Mom turned 73 and John's brother mark got marriend in Denver. Lots of amazing times and memories that will last forever.
Once I returned I was off again to New York to the Hamptons but that trip was brought to a
quick halt when our "Little Princess" Athena became extremely ill as her cancer began to ravish her little furry body and we had to put her to sleep. It was such a heart wrenching experience to let her go but the episodes that led up to that point were so profound that it was uplifiting as it was difficult. When spirit talks we have to listen and the messages were LOUD AND CLEAR. You can relive this experience by reading the August post in this blog. And I have to once again refer you to read this excerpt from "Conversations with Jerry...." It is truely an amazing read! Email me if you want to read the book and I'll email youa the pdf file.Over the labor day weekend it was an emotional filled weekend. Having just put Athena down and a new household was being set up in Palm Springs and the sad event that John and I had decided to set in motion that he and I would end our relationship as it was. We tried out best over the past few years to make out relationship mesh as life partners as traditionally described, but we just were not happy with ourselves in that "traditional" sense. We have decided to stay
together as roommates and best friends but our "Partners/lover/ boyfriends" has evolved into something that we both are able to live happily with. Many of you may not understand how we can continue to live together and often times sleep in the same bed, but it's not important that you fully understand it. All we ask is that you accept it and be supportive and happy that we still want to play an important part within each others lives. True friendship will endure. And this is what I have with John. I love him and his family and will forever be filled with them in my heart and soul!John and I were planning a trip to Italy in October but I had to have the 7th and final ankle surgery to repair a broken ankle that happend 7 year prior on my and John's first summer vacation together on Fire Island NY. I had another bone graph and sub-talor fusion on October 10th and It seems to have worked so far. The pain is definitely better but still on the mend. John was home for the operation and I urged him to take the trip to Italy to share with his friends.
My friends Kathy Clayton, Gigi, Mark Haberman, Angie
Placado as well as my sister and Joe Pacetti helped take care of me. I had a tough time keeping still but I wasn't about to mess up this last chance to heal from ankle surgery. I did manage to make a trip to Las Vegas with Kent and David Browning to see Madonna in concert and to visit with my friends Steven and Rick from NYC, who are touring with Madonna, and an impromptu reunion with my long time friend Quinton Jenkins from Tuscon. I had a lot of heling on a whole lot of levels this past fall.The end of first week of December I went to Palm Springs to take a week and had another
reunion with so many of my showboy dancer friends and just good friends with lots of water under the bridge. Kevin Smith, Kent Blackford, David Oliphant, Chris Childers, Paul Thorpe, Robby Loose, Brett Conway, and a slough of new friends gathered for a fun filled week of laughter and dancing and prancing and sharing of memories long past. It renergized me and again made me realize how blessed I am and how lucky it was that John and I found the house in Palm Springs to help make more memories!Okay so now The year is about to close but the new Year looks brighter than ever.
I want to thank all of you for making my life so full and wonderful. I may not always stay in
touch but I love the fact that we can pick up where we left off and the love continues to grow.In the meantime I'm finally getting my "Spiritual Bodybuilding" video finished and hope to have it out on YouTube by late winter. I'll keep you posted.
I thank God for you and I thank the Universal love that binds us all as one. You ARE my family and I love you and with you all the prosperity and happiness that is inherant in all of us!
XOXO Love and Light Always, Jesse
