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.
This year hit me hard. It’s the first year I’ve not cried at least once, which is progress considering prior years. But between my daughter in the middle of making a major life decision, my older son living “out of the country” in the words of the Army, and the youngest son days away from graduation, I felt sort of…bleh. I went and saw my mom for a bit, but she tends to be like me and doesn’t like “a fuss being made over her.” But other than that, I was alone all day. Even the animals were hiding in their respective corners.
Clifthangers 