Every year, I do an year end review of sorts. It's nice to be reminded of what I walked through and where I'm at now. I've come a long way from where I started, but I'm nowhere near where I'm going to end up.
Here is 2017, in numbers and words.
365 – number of days in the past year.
12 – number of months.
4 – number of seasons (except in TN where we have Almost Summer, Summer, Still Summer, Christmas, and Holy Crap, I Thought This Was December, How is it STILL SUMMER, and OK, just go ahead and open the windows–no wait don't, there's a tornado, and There It Is! SNOW.... Wait, no it's gone.... 70 degrees and Ice Storms back to Summer...)
3 – number of biological kiddos who get to call me mom.
A dozen and counting – number of kiddos I get to call mine.
10,000,000 – number of times I messed up.
10,000,001 – number of times I was forgiven
Somewhere between 1 and 10,000 – number of times I got life wrong
Somewhere between 1 and 10,000 – number of times I got it right
Way more than 365 – number of kisses kissed.
Way more than 365 – number of hugs hugged.
About a billion – number of prayers prayed.
Daily – frequency of miracles witnessed.
4 – number of blogs I wrote (including this one), thereby awakening a passion and calling I need to develop, foster, and cultivate.
I WILL do better in the year (and years) to come in funneling the words that travel from my heart to head to print. I MUST be more disciplined.
2 – (up from one last year) number of Audience of One Productions I've been in, thereby reigniting a passion and dream I though was long dead.
And this time, I went a little bigger.
I will be more intentional in seeking out opportunities and availing myself to building, and walking in, the confidence I know is in me to do better and go bigger on the stage. It's in me. It always has been. I will not allow myself to think I'm less than what I am... which is READY. I'M BACK!
1 – REAL writing job that has allowed me to learn and grow and create. Which, in turn, has led to multiple leads and other work. The opportunity to do what I never knew I could; that honestly, I was scared of, came out of seemingly nowhere. I know that's not the case. Those seemingly out-of-nowhere instances happen a lot more now that they don't go unnoticed in my life. From nowhere, I'm going somewhere.
And, I like where I'm heading.
1 – amazing, humble, gentle, supportive, risk taking, always stable, rock of a husband who has walked with me through the 20+ years leading up to this one.
Lots – of friends, new and old, who are choosing to journey with me.
2017 challenged me. It was messy and grand. It was full of surprises and the mundane. I cannot and will not say I loved every minute of it. I am not the same as when it opened. I'm grateful for its final curtain. It was a good run. I was not left wanting.
How has 2017 treated you? What are your hopes for 2018? What are you going to do to see them come to fruition?
My prayer is that we don't live the same year twice.
2018 has the bar set high. Bring it!
