2019 Review

This week marks the end of 2019.

The end of the year and the end of the decade.

I have a completely horrible memory, which is why I journal and write things down.

Today, a summary of what I think I did over the year. I won’t even try to recount the decade, I just can’t wrap my head around how much things have changed for me in a decade!

I designated 2019 as the year of Discovery. I love having a word of the year to think about as I go through day-to-day life.

This year I discovered:

• That I like having my own space and living alone. I started the year off with a roommate and knew that I couldn’t continue to live that way because I was so stressed out all the time. I don’t think I would mind having a roommate that I knew and could talk to, but I really do like living alone.
• That I really don’t need cable, and I do better when I have fewer choices in how I waste time. I cut the cable cord in the spring, and I have been so much more productive around the house. 2019 I don’t get to see as many of the “talked about” shows as I used to, but I am reading much more.
• That I still really like doing home improvement projects. I remodeled my entire backyard, and I love it now. Sitting outside on my patio during the summer was so nice. There is just a massive sense of accomplishment when you know you have made something so much better than it was.
• That losing a friend is really hard. I used to think that I was pretty good at dealing with loss, but as it turns out, I was just good at suppressing my feelings. Still working on dealing with everything that surrounds the loss of a loved one.
• That taking a break is really necessary sometimes. I was a little worried that people who read the blog wouldn’t come back after a break, but I needed to take one. And that break did me a world of good. It reminded me that I love putting my thoughts out there and that people like reading those thoughts. Who knew?
• That sometimes you have to take a risk to get a greater reward. And sometimes, you have to stretch way out of your comfort zone to find what you need. I learned all of this as I tried for and took a new job this year. This was one place where I wasn’t looking to discover anything. I was mostly happy with my other job, but this new job landed in my lap, and it has been one of the most stressful and most wonderful things to happen to me this year.
• That Family is many things, not just the people who raised you. From meeting my bio-sister, to spending holidays with friends, to reading new stories from my parents each week (from a subscription I bought them), I discovered that family is who you love, no matter how you may be related, and I love a lot of people as family.

I am very thankful today for this blog and how it has really recorded the significant parts of my year. And I am thankful for all of you who come here and read the blog. You have told me that it makes you think, and that is all I can ask for.

I haven’t chosen a new word for 2020. I still need time to reflect and understand where my heart wants to go in the new year. And I think that I will still keep discovery in the background because I am feeling like building on these words is even better than just choosing it for a year and then moving on.

Thanks for being here. I hope you had a good year, and I wish you all the goodness and prosperity and love you can handle in the new year.

🙂

PS. I am not an affiliate for these books, but I just think it is an excellent idea to capture stories from people in your life. The subscription I gave my parents was to Storyworth. It is a service that emails a question to the recipient each week, and they reply to the questions. They get 52 questions, and at the end of the year, you get a beautiful, hard-bound book of all the stories to save for a lifetime. You can add pictures and choose the questions. I loved the stories I got from my parents and only wish this had been around when my grandparents were still here. If you want to get one for your people, just click here.