Karen Hoyt is a blogger who has a story about hepatitis C, cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease, liver cancer, and liver transplantation. This excerpt first appeared on Karen’s I Help C blog.

When it comes to the year end, there are a lot of ways to look at things. Sometimes, I look at it from the Merry Christmas! side of life. Trees, lights, food and music are involved. Other times it’s all about the Happy New Year! side of life with endings and beginnings. No matter how I approach it, emotions are always strong. I’m a listener. When my heart speaks, my mind slows down. It looks like stillness, but emotionally feels like…. Everything.

Our emotions can range from quiet desperation to peals of laughter. The evidence of our inner thought life are not always easy to detect. Elle, my youngest “grand” was with me in a very tense moment recently. We were exchanging glances, reassuring each other that all was well. (somehow, eye contact with someone who understands, makes everything tolerable)

Anyhoo, she leaned in and whispered, “You always look like you’re getting ready to smile really big”.

On the edge of a smile.

To read the rest of this blog, click here. Be sure to see the photo of Karen’s granddaughter...