Every New Year's Eve, we have a tendency to dwell on the crappy stuff that happened that year and want to forget about it all as we head into the new year. I'm guilty of it, too.
In 2017, I lost my friend Heidi, who succumbed to the numerous illnesses that plagued her life for many years, as well as my Aunt Nette whom cancer took in June and my Uncle Leo who passed away in January. Our friend Doug also died unexpectedly this year, which has taken a toll on all of us. I eliminated some negative relationships, that while in the long run will be beneficial were still painful to me at the time. I continue to struggle with those losses. We bought three cars in 2017 due to accidents and mechanical malfunctions and, as we close out NYE, we're car-less again as the exhaust system fell apart just a few days ago. I was diagnosed with diabetes in September, which has forced me to make some pretty drastic dietary changes. Of course, we've all felt the political and social climate changes as we worked through the first year of a new presidency. It's so easy to focus on this stuff because loss always seems to have such a long-lasting effect as we work through emotions. But, I can't dwell very long. There were far too many good things that happened.
January brought me a surprise care package from my friend Amber in Alabama. We were chatting one day and she discovered that I'd never heard of some of the treats she was talking about. So, she packed up a box of goodies and sent them my way. A couple bags of chips, Grapico and a can of Buffalo Rock ginger ale made it to my house a couple days later. How much fun it was to try out new things from a different place. Thanks for a taste of the South, Amber! January also brought a visit from Shay's friend T-Dawg, who enlisted in the Navy last year. There were a couple dinners with family and a few dates with my hubby, too. The greatest part of January, however, was nailing my audition for "This is My Brave," a show designed to help eliminate the stigma of mental illness. It was the beginning step in a very powerful journey for me.
In February, my youngest bird left the nest. At the time, I really thought it was the end of all the goodness and purpose I had in my life. But within a day or two, I turned his bedroom into my library/office and all was right with the world again. A new great-nephew came into the world in the middle of the month. Thanks to a nice weather warm-up, I was able to take part in a photography project with my friend Amy. Nate and I celebrated our 17th anniversary. And I got to see
Dirty Dancing in the theaters again!
March was filled with work, work, and more work. And yes, this is a good thing. I still enjoy my job, so being that busy makes me feel useful and like I'm contributing something to the community. When I wasn't working, I was rehearsing for the show. It's phenomenal to me that the show was completely sold out. We even opened our dress rehearsal to friends and family and those seats also flew out of our hands at the speed of light. The actual show went off without a hitch and all our hard work was worth it. Aside from our own, lives were touched that night. Nothing has made me prouder than to be a part of such a wonderful organization.
April showers seemed to keep us pretty quiet, but they did bring Sean home to visit - which, of course, included his favorite meals and board games galore. My bestie also visited and we pulled a most-of-the-nighter watching chick flicks and eating junk food. I can handle many more months like April. Any time I get to spend time with those I love are times worth repeating.
May rounded out spring with seven funeral calls in a row, which meant an extremely busy time at work, but a nice lead-in to the summer months. I stayed busy and kept my nose to the grindstone. Nate and I did blow a little bit of money on new ink, though. This made for tattoo number 13 for me. Dillon Deville at Destination Tattoos is the man!! Hours in the chair for touch-ups, but it was so worth it. Everything looked fantastic when he finished. Nate and I also started spending some time with friends in town. After twelve years in this little town and we're finally becoming townies! I also somehow found time to take a road trip to Missouri with Shay. We took the scenic route and enjoyed discovering some out-of-the-way sights to see. I'm always a sucker for a good road trip. The highlight of the month, though, was finally getting some much needed yard work done. Thanks to help from Teri and Joe, our yucky yard was presentable again!
June is the start of FUN SEASON! Brandi and I went to see Ed Sheeran at Wells Fargo Arena. It was her fifth show and my first. With the way that ginger strums, it won't be my last. He's remarkable and I still can't get ÷ out of my head. Even now, six months later, it's on repeat constantly. Ed was quickly followed by New Kids on the Block. I only went to one show this tour, but I got to go with Ann Marie and our friend Cathy (whom I hadn't seen in FAR too long). AM came here to visit her kiddos and I rode back to Indianapolis with her. Ironically, I've seen New Kids twice in Indy now even though it's not a typical travel destination of mine. The show was, of course, fantastic, and we had a blast. AM got some Donnie love and I got Steak n' Shake, so I'd say we both won! Later in the month, I took part in a mini-show for This is My Brave for south-central Iowa NAMI. It was a casual gathering of folks, but just as impactful as March's show and an honor to be a part of. Work was quiet most of the month, but there was so much fun everywhere else! I was incredibly thankful for these fun times since June was kind of rough emotionally.
It's July! You know what that means: Family Freedom Fest in Atlanta! This marked the third year Shay and I spent the 4th of July (and my birthday) in Georgia. There were fireworks and sparklers and burgers, oh my! I checked "Visiting a Southern Plantation" off my
bucket list, as well as driving through part of Alabama. We even stopped at one of those historical markers on the way home. July is my favorite month of the year because it means spending time with friends who have become family over the years. We're always welcomed with open arms, even if my little brother Mije does shoot me in the face with a Nerf dart. (Vengeance will be mine!) July also brought us a new kitty! Months earlier, a friend of ours was fostering 1-week old kittens, one of whom was named Chaos by the Animal Rescue League. Having just lost our Chaos in December last year, I knew it was meant to be that we would adopt
this Chaos, too. As the runt of the litter and having lost her mom to an accident, the odds weren't in her favor. She was bottle fed for a few weeks, then was placed with an adoptive nursing mama cat at the shelter, which helped her thrive. When the little moppet was barely two pounds, we brought her home at last. Since there could only be one Chaos and we felt it was fate that brought us together, we decided on the name Kismet. Her roly poly butt has made up for lost time and now tops the scales at nearly twelve pounds. (Time for a diet, Kizzy!) She is a true joy to have around, though (even if she has walked off with every pen and pencil I own). July also brought me progressive lenses. I was dreading the whole bifocal thing coming into it, but now that I've gotten used to them, I'm really digging the whole thing. It helps that my frames are cute.
August. Iowa State Fair. 'Nuff said. (And apparently that's all that really happened in August. I even double-checked my Facebook timeline to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. Nope! Just a quiet month.)
September started off with our town's annual Labor Day Celebration. Since Nate's on the committee, I helped out a little, too. Judging cute babies and pets in fun costumes is just up my alley! I was also contacted by a teacher at a high school about an hour away and asked to speak about writing as a career. As a kid, I always wanted to be a teacher, so this was a brief chance to fulfill my dream. Talking to the kids at Clarke County Community High School was the highlight of my autumn! Having this opportunity sparked some ideas for me and I began researching for my newest book idea. As a bonus, my
Time After Time series was put in our local library this month, as well. I love the idea that people in my community are reading my creations. We rounded out September with a road trip to Minnesota for my nephew's wedding. It was 50's theme (which, if you know me, you know this is totally my thing), so our family went all out with petticoats, fedoras, and pompadours. We haven't had this much fun as a family in a long, LONG time. Add in shopping on the square in the cutest little Minnesota town, a detour through rural Wisconsin on the way home, and discovering a new (phenomenal!) place for hot wings called
DSpot and I'd say September was a success!
October is my second favorite month of the year. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday because I love a good costume and candy rocks my socks! I also dig the cooler weather, the fall colors and the crunch of leaves under my feet. Since the heat subsided a little, I found myself taking a few walks. I lost about ten pounds this month, so between that, eating better and my medication, I was able to get my diabetes under control pretty quickly. My biggest fear is becoming insulin dependent, so keeping that at bay is at the top of my priorities. Another
This is My Brave mini-show brought me back together with the cast (which I use loosely because these people are my people. They get me - and that's really tough to do). In an attempt to get my mental health back on track, I tried to pull away from social media a little bit, too, which meant more reading (one of my favorite activities) and writing (what I should be doing every day). Heading into November (which is National Novel Writing Month), I wanted to have a good grasp on the beginning of a story, so I spent much of the last part of October doing just that. Also? Samhain! Halloween is awesome, but it all began centuries ago as the Pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. I became Pagan a few years ago around the time of Samhain, so it's my personal anniversary of a very freeing time in my life. As usual, I set up my annual altar with candles, fall-time decorations (like leaves and pumpkins), and photos & memorabilia of my ancestors. I've always been a big photo person, but this time of year allows me time to really connect with those who paved the path for me and our family. Me being a witch has scared a lot of my Christian family members because of their faith in Jesus, but I promise, nothing I do is dark, evil or Satanic. I just have a deeper appreciation for nature - the planet, flora and flauna, as well as the sun, moon, and stars. (Okay, mostly I just burn candles, treat ailments with homemade cures, and hoard pretty rocks. lol) Our ancestors all used to live and die by the force of the moon and seasons (think about crop sowing and reaping, livestock breeding, preserving seeds and food, etc.), so bringing that back to the present helps me feel more in touch with who I am and where I come from. Sorry for derailing a little bit from the point of the blog, but I know I have some new readers who may not understand being Pagan, so I wanted to give a brief description of what it means to me.
November hit me square in the face. Okay, maybe not November, but definitely NaNoWriMo. But then again, it always does. The point behind NaNo is to write 50k words (essentially a novel) in 30 days. There are thousands every year who do it. I, however, am not one of them. I have big intentions and start out solid, but I fizzle about 10-15,000 words in. This year was no different in that respect. It was different, though, in that I was actually able to write anything. I've struggle so hard with it in recent years because of the Lyme, that I happily claim this year's NaNo as a win in my book. I didn't win by standard qualifications, but any words I can get down at all are better than I've done in a long time. I blame the rest of November for getting me off track from NaNo. There were two more
This is My Brave mini-shows and I made the decision to edit my speech a little. This was a tough task, so making it through the rewrite felt really good. (And it also offset a couple thousand words for NaNo, so there's that.) Throw in Thanksgiving travel to see Nate's family, him tossing his hat in the politics ring for a local election, and a large event I planned for work, and it's no wonder NaNo took a header. Fortunately, everything went well (except my weight loss path, that is) and overall, November was a good month. (Did I mention I'm growing out my hair?)
Here we are, the last month of 2017. There's work, of course, as well as family stuff. While Shay left the nest in the spring, he moved back in this month. Adulting is tough for all of us, but kiddo needed a soft place to land after a car accident, so here we are. He also made the official decision to join the US Marine Corps. He passed his ASVAB and physical, and is legally the property of the government as of April 2nd when he ships to boot camp. I, of course, am scared to death - that's my baby, after all. But he is psyched and excited, so that's what matters. In order to take my mind off of my fears, I decided to take up some hobbies that don't include screens. Crocheting is my first venture and I have to say, it's going well. As with everything I do, I've obsessed about it on Pinterest and pinned at least a thousand patterns for blankets, scarves and clothing I'll never make. Go figure. I just bought my first Tarot deck a couple weeks ago, and I'm hoping to take up ceramics or something else creative soon, too. Until then, the crocheting makes me happy. So do road trips, so Nate and I took one - to Texas to see Sean for Christmas. When we planned the trip, we were envisioning warm and sunny weather and an all-over reprieve from the cold bucket of suck that Iowa can be in December. Texas had other ideas. Regardless, though, the change in scenery was appreciated and nothing beats spending time with my kids. We had a really, really great time just slacking off for a few days and enjoying the no-stress environment for the holidays. An added bonus of our trip was getting to meet my sister, Linda for the first time. As many of you know, I learned in 1995 that I had two half-sisters I'd never met before. It took me far too long to find them and too long to get down to see them, but meeting Lindi and her son Michael was a dream come true. We arrived home on Christmas day to a mailbox overflowing with holiday greetings - one of which being the announcement that my nephew and his wife are expecting baby #4 in June. We rounded out the year with a holiday potluck with my extended family. Despite a snow storm, we all gathered at my cousin's house for dinner and conversation. My family may be a little nuts, but I love 'em. Merry Christmas, indeed!
In 2017 we've strengthened bonds with friends we already had and also brought numerous new friends into our lives - Michelle, Torianno, and all my
Brave folks for starters. It gave us new babies (Congratulations, Crystal & Sydney!), new family members (welcome to the family, Stephanie and Lydia!), and new ventures. Sure this year has had its share of problems, but none that can't be fixed with all the good stuff that happened. As I head into 2018, I look forward to a year of intention and purpose - emotionally, spiritually, physically, and professionally. I hope to have you all along for the ride (although if my car breaks down, you may have to do the driving)!
Happy New Year!
