Bidding Adieu to the 365 Day Dumpster Fire

I’m not fool enough to believe that the flipping of a calendar page will make a significant change in my life, but by many people’s estimation, 2016 is one for the books.  There are the obvious reasons, there was elections, and unrest and Harambe.  There was a glut of celebrity deaths so severe that Betty White was encased in bubble wrap for the last two weeks of the year.  There was Brexit and Zika and ISIS and Kanye.  There was the constant election coverage and the polarization it brought.  We lost Muhammad Ali, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, John Glenn, Alan Thicke, Florence Henderson, George Michael and Grizzly Adams to name a few. 

For me, 2016 was a series of gut punches with an occasional haymaker.  Admittedly, the election didn’t shake out the way I had hoped and, for the sake of less liberal readers, I am left feeling a bit trepidatious about the next four years.  I was surprised by the passing of David Bowie, shocked by the death of Prince and crushed by the news of Carrie Fisher, my first crush and incomparable both on and off the screen.  I had a New Year’s resolution list with far too few items checked off and lingering running injuries that made the last six months a combination of painful and stagnant.  There was too little money and too many bills and six more pounds around the middle.  All in all, 2016 felt a bit like a fist fight, a fist fight with a drunk guy who cares not for the rules.     

  

I think I’m correct in saying that like a lot of people, I’m looking at December 31^st as a finish line.  I guess if that’s the case, then what am I writing about?  I suppose that’s the lesson for the girlies.  Yes, this year was a dumpster fire.  Yes, I often wondered about the decision making of myself, the American people and even the almighty...I mean Prince, seriously?  The part that’s hard to consider is that that the good generally outweighs the bad.  So, while the president-elect does most of his reading on Twitter, Darby has learned to read this year and while the man upstairs chose to take Harper Lee, Avery wrote her first book this year.  There were races run and goals scored.  There were good grades and good games and good times.    Here’s the thing girls; it’s easy to think of the bad times, if you let yourself go down that road.  It’s an easy habit to fall into.  It’s about what is going on between your adorable ears.  The world is a beautiful place full of interesting things.  That’s absolutely a lesson I need to work on.  So 2016, don’t let the door hitcha on the way out, 2017 and I have a bunch of stuff to do.