2018 will forever be marked as a significant year.

High-Low Game

The highlight of the year all happened over the course of five days. The end result was when Son One married his longtime girlfriend. She’s occupied a special place in my heart longer than they’ve been together, so now that she is our daughter-in-love makes it extra special.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Son Two graduated from high school. Thankfully, he and I have recovered. I’ve had kids in school since 1998, but those last six months nearly did me in. There have been negotiations between heads-of-state less tense than those last months of his senior year.

Looking Forward

I generally feel pretty blah when it comes to a new year. I don’t know why. For about three years, I’ve gone to bed early because watching the ball drop induced tears.

Once the holidays were over, I felt myself slipping into that familiar place. Then, a few days ago, I heard someone at work tell another, “If you aren’t comfortable with what you are seeing, then speak up. Do something about it.”

While thinking about talking points for a New Year’s Day post, I felt a revelation. Those words echoed in my head. Do something about it.

Making resolutions is something I gave up a long time ago. It felt like I’d make a list of two or three things I wanted to accomplish and then peter out somewhere along January 3rd. Why set myself up to fail, right?

I had been thinking about some goals I had for the coming year. (Goals aren’t the same as resolutions, right?) Having a new planner and a fresh set of pens will do that to a person. It’s exciting to have a fresh start. The slate is clean.

“I can’t because…”

I’ve been using those three words as a shield to give up rather than push through. I’ve missed so many opportunities to grow in both my personal and professional life. Taking a good look in the mirror, I acknowledge I don’t like what I see. I’m going to speak up. I’m going to do something about it.

Look out, 2019. It’s about to get real.