2018, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Okay, it wasn’t all so bad, but it wasn’t all so good, either.
The year, governed by the word EXPLORE, started out with a bang and a trip to Vietnam (#Vietnamaste), and quickly turned into one of the most trying and gut-wrenching times of my life. Mom got frighteningly ill, quite unexpectedly, and we spent almost 2 full months in and out of the hospital. With that, I finally understood what it means to not have time to cook. Or breathe. To feel helpless and to have the events transpiring be completely out of my control. And of being too scared to even think. It was the closest I’ve ever come to completely falling apart and I guess the good news is that I made it, we both did, with a few more grey hairs and a lot to be thankful for moving into 2019.
It’s hard to not think about the past year without those first four months dominating the whole, and how what happened last February could have changed the whole trajectory of well, everything, going forward. Luckily, for me it did not, but some of my friends were not so fortunate. We collectively had losses and scares and heartbreaks. More endings than beginnings and tears to last us the rest of our days. That’s how we will all remember 2018.
However, while not everything was awesome, everything was not too terrible either.
In the middle of all of the Mom stuff, I bought my first place. Distracted by the aforementioned, it was a blessing in disguise because it meant that I didn’t have the time or mental energy to agonize of the minutiae that is typically associated with home buying. But, Crawley and I are settled into our new home and that, it certainly feels like.
Thanks to Joy the Baker, I made an impromptu trip to the Kentucky Derby with Mom and Tomato, big hats, mint julips and all.
Because Mom is a rock star and recovered better and faster than anyone could have expected, we did make our jaunt across the pond (#OurMilesThroughtheIsles), and after 10 days of driving topsy-turvy, had nary a scratch on either car.
I went on my first press trip as a travel writer, so here’s hoping more are on the horizon.
While I didn’t get out and about in Michigan at large or in Detroit as planned, I’m hoping to more this year and with Ham a willing buddy, it just might be more likely to happen.
As for 2019, my word is REIMAGINE. It took me a while to come up with this one, and I can’t really put into words what I want it to mean, but it was the one that just felt right. I feel like, despite the big move and new job less than 2 years ago, my life has, for the most part, stayed true to the same blueprint that I set out almost a decade ago: good job, good friends, independence and adventure. Not that I necessarily want any of those to change dramatically, but maybe it’s time to reimagine what some of those things look like.
I don’t know, but the universe has its ways.
Wishing you all the best for 2019- and thanks for sticking around with me on this journey we’re on together.
