A Year in the Can

I don't really want to reflect back on this year. It happened, I hated most of it, move on.

But as with every year, there were parts I didn't hate. Parts I actually really liked, in fact. I don't keep a regular diary, but I do jot down a few highlights from each day. This has been extremely helpful, because I can look back on things and get an idea of my mindset at the time. It also helps me see just how much work I've been able to accomplish and remember happier times. 

This year, of course, has run the gamut. Much of my joy comes from going places and hanging out with people, both things of which I experienced little. But I was able to find new things that gave me joy and kept my mind fairly intact. As Iago said in "Aladdin," you'd be surprised what you can live through. 

There's one photo that really sums up a large part of my year. 

That's about 3/4 of the medication I was prescribed this year and then either couldn't tolerate or didn't work as intended. It represents hundreds of dollars, days of dizziness and nausea, and weeks of frustration. I really didn't realize just how horrible I'd been feeling this year until I looked back over my calendar - I have a shorthand for health (which says a lot in itself), and just about every week had at least 2 days that indicated that it was a bad day. And that's all before I started developing hardcore anxiety. Which necessitated even more med trials. 

Last year, on New Year's Eve, I was at my friend Lori's house. I felt awful. Very dizzy, very spaced out, nauseous, and just plain miserable. I feel 100x better this year than I did then. For that, I'm thankful. 

In 2019, I wrote down on thing every day that made me grateful. I think for 2021, since my theme is joy, I'm going to write down one thing every day (or week, whatever works) that brought me joy. I'm counting on you guys to hold me accountable for that. And I'm going to explore the definitions of joy a bit more. It's a feeling like no other. 

I pray that 2021 brings all of us bountiful blessings, great joy, and an abundance of common sense. 

Happy New Year!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: December 14-18, 2020

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the office, the mice were disappearing one by one. Seriously, though, everyone is using up all of their leftover vacation time. How they can tell what was vacation and what was WFH, I don't know. I haven't decided what I'm going to do next week or the week after. I'll probably be in the office for at least part of it. There's always plenty to do. 

This week was mostly about getting cards out. I finished the last one today. I'm really glad to have that done. I always forget just how long it takes to write out 100 Christmas cards. 

I also finished a couple more groups of Castilian. Because I'm awesome like that. 

I feel like I should be saying something profound to wrap up the year. But let's be honest, it's been a terrible year. I'd really rather just forget it existed. I don't have that luxury, of course, but it would be nice. Honestly, though, this year has been make or break for a lot of people. I feel a little cracked, but I don't think I'm totally broken yet. I even managed to learn a few things. Maybe not the things I wanted to learn, but probably some things I needed to learn. 

Here's to 2021 being just as amazing as 2020 was awful.

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

Bye.

The Weekly Wrap-Up: December 7-11, 2020

Okay, so I didn't quite get to this on Friday. It was a long week, and I was feeling a bit stressed, so I didn't take the time to really list everything. But I'm back at it, so that's something.

I worked on two groups of Castilian last week. I'm really hoping to get it done before the end of the year, but there's so much going on each day. My primary project last week was working on getting my end-of-the-year letter written and cards sent out. I'm still writing the cards. They go to a lot of people, so it's no wonder that it takes some time, especially when I'm hand-writing all of them. I try to be a little more personable than my normal letters, which are definitely heartfelt, but it's not personalized. I want to acknowledge the support that people have given me, especially in a year when we really haven't been able to connect in person. 

Everyone else was in planning and budgeting meetings. I was very happy to not be included in those. I think it went fairly well, but obviously, we did a lot of planning for this year and look how that turned out. I think they were a little more loose with things, ready for whatever changes come next. 

Lori and I did some more work in the warehouse, mainly getting things organized into groups. We're still not totally sure what we'll do with the rest of the books, so if you have any ideas, let me know. 

Other than that, it's pretty standard around here. This is definitely going to be a weird Christmas. But I hope you find fulfillment and joy in the gift of Jesus Christ.

Bye!

The Weekly Wrap-Up: November 30 - December 4, 2020

I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! Mine was small but fun, and I still have leftovers, so what's not to like?

This week, I was back to it. Lots of emails to reply to, lots of the usual meetings that are super fun and definitely couldn't be summed up in an email. I managed to finish two more groups of Castilian, I've got a head start on my Christmas cards (though not on the letter), and I seem to be finally adjusting to my meds. All good things.

On Friday, we had our ECC Retreat. Because of restrictions this year, we did it all on Zoom (of course), but it was actually really nice. Jeff and Laura Edwards led us in a time of spiritual formation, talking about the value of solitude and clearing a space for what is truly important. It's given me a lot to think about. Of course, we had our gift exchange, which is weird to do online because most of us had to send gifts through the mail and hope they arrived in time. But we had a great time.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bye!