This past year is one I would like to forget. It was a bad year filled with an incredible amount of needless worrying about health issues, marital difficulties, crazy clients, and friends who did unthinkable things to me. Yet, despite all the bad, there were some highlights.
One silver lining to 2012 is that I finally conquered my fear (albeit temporarily) and took a couple of my daughters overseas to Turkey and Greece. I have always wanted to be a world traveler, and as it turns out, you can’t actually do that without getting on an airplane. I nearly lost my will to succeed after landing in London, but quickly realized it was probably not a good idea to rent a car and drive to Istanbul especially without GPS.
I am happy I made the trip and showed the inner me who’s really the boss. I am currently arguing with myself to let me go to Costa Rica next summer. We’ll see how that goes.
Another surprisingly happy event in 2012 was a website owner asked me to be one of her staff writers for Milliver’s Travels, a travel blog. I was so honored and ecstatic to know that somebody out there was reading my stuff and enjoying it enough to want to read it again. I truly get a kick out of people reading what I’ve written — I don’t think that feeling will ever get old.
And travel writing, isn’t that hilarious? Fortunately, I live in a tourist destination so I can write about stuff happening in my own backyard.
A friend of mine paid my fee to join her at a boot camp back in January. She was determined to get me to exercise beyond just walking the dog. It worked. Although I do not go to the boot camp she signed me up for, I attend a gym that is way out of my league price-wise, but it’s helping me see that I do deserve nice things. This January surprise from a friend has given me two gifts this year and they keep on giving 3-4 days a week.
Finally, I am heading back to school in a couple weeks to attend horticulture classes. I cannot wait. I wanted to go into horticulture a long time ago but the hours the classes were offered didn’t work with a full-time job. I was one of those people who needed a full-time job while going to school at night. Receiving the go ahead from my husband to pursue this passion is a major silver lining to a less than stellar year.
Do you sit back each December 31st and think about the past year, or are you a more forward thinker? What life lessons did you receive in 2012? What changes are you making this year?
I leave you with those questions to ponder as I hurriedly get ready for the gym I can’t quite afford but can’t quite stop going to. Cheers, and Happy New Year!
Bloggoneit's Blog 
Congratulations on all of the milestones that you achieved in 2012! Also, congratulations on being asked to be a staff writer on the travel blog! I think the travel bug is getting ready bite 🙂
Like you, 2012 was not a good one for me. There are plenty of moments that I’d like to forget, but more than anything, I think I am ready to actively seek to push aside a lot of the negative junk that’s was swirling around in 2012. I’m hoping 2013 will be a better year all around.
Happy New Year!!
No doubt about it — it’s time to leave the junk behind both literally and figuratively. Getting new carpet has allowed me the joy of getting rid of a lot of stuff. Now that I have started, I can’t seem to stop unloading the stuff I don’t use, look at, read, wear, etc. I cleared out an entire section underneath my desk in one day.
It helps that our local garbage collection company now takes many recyclables curbside so my guilt at “filling the landfills” has been reduced.
Yesterday, I threw out two shirts that were in such bad shape, I can’t believe I still had them! They were in my closet in the event I wanted to do yard work in them, but they are too ugly and stained to go outside in — even in my own backyard, so I put them in the garbage, and didn’t look back. What a great feeling!
Like I said in my post, after many, many years of deprivation, I deserve nice things.
And you do, too.