Let's end this shitty year on not a sad note?

[mizarchivist]

Hi friends. I just skimmed the last few posts I wrote and they were all categorically upset, angry, overwhelmed. Geez. OK! Well, some of that is that it has been an objectively crap year for most of us, self included... but also, I think Dreamwidth has been my vent for the bad and I keep NOT writing the good to balance it.

So, let's see. What can I say about this year that IS good? In no particular order...?

• House! I live in my own house now! It's great! I love it! From beginning to end of the concept,
• Travels- The big one was I got to go to NYC with my friends and see Hamilton, but I was also grateful to visit Dale back in Cleveland, and my first trip to Portland, OR for a conference meant reconnecting with Lee & Venetia and seeing my  childhood friend, Chris.
• Music- The pop music scene this year has been so great, both radio finds and So You Think You Can Dance have been a delight
• #resist I'm proud that I've met political adversity with action and advocacy. I hope to maintain any of that steam next year
• People (I'm a people-driven person, so this is sort of the big thing)
  
  • Hey, that boyfriend I snagged in September. He's pretty great. He's not on social media, so I can't refer to him easily. Feel free to ask me directly if we've not talked about it.
  • The Kid, while always a challenge, is blooming delightfully. One of my favorite recurring question they ask is "Is there another context for that word?"
  • Actual growth from spouse- It's been a real struggle, especially the last 3-4 years. The transition has been wrecking. And that was half. The other half has been new-found sobriety. There's flatly no way I can write about all this here, other than I want to mark its existence at all for posterity. Also to add one more tally, which is:
  • My chosen family is remarkable in its capacity to take care of me. This is not new to this year, but they are absolutely a constant and reliable solace in an otherwise very hard span of time. Ah, including...
  • Reconnecting with a friend I thought gone forever, whom I've often referred to in passing as Mr. Animae. It's been almost a year exactly since we said hi again. It's not a contest, but his year has been even harder than mine, I think. It's been good to be here for him as much as him for me.
• Art- SCARVES. I love them. I've been designing/painting/dying scarves since October. I primarily broadcast about that in Facebook right now and I don't have the capacity to share any images here at the second. I have notions of putting together a gallery of what I've done so far ... somewhere!  It basically takes all the elements I love best about making art-- the color and shape theory-- and puts it into wearable form. How can you go wrong ? And even if you don't wear scarves, they can be wall-hangings.

Here are some things I want to work on next year

• Self care! Exercise, therapy, meetings, *art*.
• Stay present and continue re-evaluating how I move through the world: Is it healthy - or fall into one of the following- enabling, assuming, reactive.
• Do the work on finding the new job. I've had some leads, one actually still active even. I will get there.
• Find a new craft fair
• Learn to say no more where I need to.
• Keep trying ... Yeah. Just keep trying.

That's what I have. I hope our next year sees positive growth personally and globally. Let's keep growing our empathy and compassion and hope it is catchy. ::love::

Comments

[lifecollage]

So much love to you, hon. <3