Happy BIRTHDAY, dear transplant....

There is no Hallmark card, oddly enough, to say "Happy One-Year Anniversary of the Day I Gave You an Organ!" -- so I'm kind of on my own to express what I'm feeling towards Joe on this Wednesday night, the eve of the first anniversary of our transplant. (Only kind of, because the blessed Yahoo Greetings comes close with its speak-what-you-type talking e-cards, as Joe knows quite well by now!) Frankly, there's no card that can even come close to expressing what I'm feeling toward my whole family, all my friends, my boss and co-workers, the surgeons at NMH, my faithful Chopped Liver readers, and everyone who I have been in touch with around the world about this life-changing series of events. This is love, people. Love, gusto, hopefulness, joy, pride, humility, a teensy bit of disbelief, and above all, gratitude.

Joe: Let's hope for an even better year two. I love you so much!

As you may have noticed, I've been taking a break from Chopped Liver. Frustrated by my inadequate progress toward the new Web site and non-profit foundation I'm trying to launch, and busy with a tough load of classes and a major merger at work, I just couldn't face it. It was feeling like a burden and I didn't feel very worthy of it all.

But here I am, just back from another life-altering early-year event -- a two-week MBA crash course in sustainable business in the heart of Costa Rica -- and my soul feels refreshed and my perspective healed. And suddenly, I love love love this blog again. So with renewed resolve, I pledge to return to blogging with more frequency and vigor.

Terry, Mike, Brent, thank you so much for your recent emails. I really love hearing from you and I promise to respond to you each personally very soon.