By this point in the past few years, I would have written a blog post looking back at the last 12 months and assessing how I did with my resolutions. I’d look at the highlights and start thinking what I wanted to accomplish in the year ahead.
I’m not doing that this time. Partly because, to put it plainly, this year sucked. I got mugged and battled negativity. I gave up on exercising. I had to cancel a trip I’d saved and planned for nearly a year. More than anything, it sucked because I lost my father way too early.
Not surprisingly, I didn’t do too well when it came to accomplishing the goals I had set for myself this year.
This all sounds melodramatic, I know. There were good things this year too. We bought a new house, a beautiful place I look forward to enjoying for many years to come. I spent a weekend at Bonnaroo with my entire family, something that made my dad so very happy. I watched friends celebrate some major milestones and toasted five years of marriage with Jamie.
But overall, 2013 was a tough year. I can only hope that it made me stronger and more able to handle future struggles. I have a lot of wishes for next year, but I’m going to keep them to myself for now. Instead, I’m going to focus solely on today — celebrating the new year with some of my dearest friends. Then I’ll try to face the next day with optimism and purpose. And I’ll keep going from there.
For now, my resolution is to make it to 2014 with joy in my heart and a little bit of hope for the year ahead. If I accomplish that, then I can confidently take on the following day.
Look out, world. I’m coming back, albeit with baby steps.
