December 31, 2024 ~ Tuesday (late morning/sunny but chilly)
Happy (almost) New Year. As I type, we’ve got another 13 hours (my lucky number) to go until we can close the lid on this year. And what a year!
I’m not sure when this will post but as happy as I am to leave this one behind … the trepidation with which I will be entering this new year is palpable … which, in a nutshell, really isn’t a good thing. Martha Stewart, and her famous – “It’s a good thing.” remark would be a negative one in this instance.
It’s a sunny but chilly day and the air felt crisply invigorating today. Not nice enough for me to take a long walk (as I should) but enough to make me feel alive and grateful for a new day. I was at a dr’s appt making sure I don’t have (what I was sure was) a nasty infection. I do not. I just am, apparently, allergic to everything and its brother. Fun times with allergic rhinitis. Oh yay!
And so it goes. It was a year of weirdnesses (if that is a word) and then some. It’s too exhausting to replay personal and political developments, blow backs, upshots, and after shocks … in one very meaningful, all encompassing word, it was a shitshow.
On the personal front – at least I am talking again! And, whatever weight I lost – found me again. Dammit anyway! Those (too long) months were not fun!
And, unfortunately, on the political front – it is only getting ramped up. I am worried, concerned, leery of what is coming (all too soon) for us and just thinking about it – before much else has happened – is leaving me weary. Not a great way to start a new year!
So, I’m going to have a bit of lobster (on sale at the grocery store – yay for me!) and a baked potato and ring in the new year – probably around 8pm with my one inch of peach wine that I can consume before breathing issues start. (I would like to start the new year breathing, so yeah – just a bit of wine!) And I will wipe the slate clean – using a bleach cleanser if necessary – and close this year in the manner akin to slamming a door. Enough already! Buh-bye … don’t let the door hit you in the ass 2024! Good riddance. Etcetera!
And, as is customary (and usually unfulfilled), I will make a few resolutions – which I have not even begun to think about yet – but having more patience surely should be on that list. The usual “walk more – eat less” has been a thing in the past – but I eat so little as it is, I’m thinking I should eat MORE. So, I probably should adopt the “walk more – eat more” philosophy/diet and see what happens. Wanting different results from doing the same thing over and over (and over) again is madness … and I don’t need any more of that in my life. I don’t think any of us do. More cuddles with the dogs – because they are ancient and their days are numbered. I don’t think either of these fur babies will see the end of this upcoming year. I will (as in yes, I WILL do it) get the grief book published (it’s only been in the works for 13 years – again, my lucky number!) I will travel more … I will take time to be artsy … I will maybe even perfect a signature recipe. I haven’t volunteered in a long time – so, that should be on my list. And anything else – like just being more grateful and thankful seems too easy NOT to do. So, count those things in, too.
In any case … I am also going to try to just breathe. Leave all this nonsense to the idiots who have caused it. My being an (informed) ostrich has started and I need to not let all this upheaval and these disgusting, sickening, repugnant, and contemptible (need I go on?) behaviors and actions make me an upset mess. Been there/done that. I don’t need it. I don’t want it. It makes me crazy. And I don’t need anymore help in the crazy department than what is already in my life!
So, with those thoughts, I will close this year out with a few toasts for the New Year …
“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” — Benjamin Franklin
“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” — Edith Pierce
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” — T.S. Eliot
Happy New Year to you and yours. May you find comfort in your relationships, challenge in your purpose, and joy in every facet of your life.