2016 has been a rough year for a lot of us.
So many cultural figures died in 2016. RIP Prince, David Bowie, Gene Wilder, Mohamed Ali, Florence Henderson, Alan Thicke, Buckwheat Zydeco, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Alan Rickman, Glen Frey, Garry Shandling, and Patty Duke, George Michael, and Carrie Fisher. (Nancy Reagan died in 2016 too, but honestly, I don’t care if she rests in peace or goes to Hell.)
On the personal front, I found a dead man in an isolated campground, and by the end of the same month, my dad was dead too.
Then the presidential election turned out the way so many of us feared, and now a hateful, crass, misogynistic bully is headed to the White House.
Of course, some nice things happened in 2016 too. Lou gave birth to a beautiful baby girl to keep her beautiful baby boy company.
Uh…that’s the only nice thing from 2016 I can come up with.
Well, I guess I should say that’s the only momentous nice thing I can come up with. Even in a bed year, smaller nice things happen all the time. I shared a campsite with a giant sequoia for over four months in 2016. I saw pileated woodpeckers (or maybe just one several times) in 2016. I visited Red Rock Canyon in Nevada in 2016. I felt the love of friends near and far in 2016. The year wasn’t a total bust.
Starting in 1997, every ten years I have a really great year. I’m due for a great 2017, with or without Donal Trump as POTUS. Bring on the joy, 2017. Bring on the joy!
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Things 2016 Taught Me:
My dad wasn’t invincible.
When we thought George W. Bush was the worst thing that could happen to this country, we weren’t using our imaginations.
There’s still so much hate in the United States.
I can function in a crisis.
I am capable of writing/publishing/promoting a book.
My life is full of people who love and care for me.
My Goals for 2017:
Turn off the damn solitaire game.
Read 75 books.
Think before I open my big mouth.
Write another book. (I currently have plans for three more.)
Treat everyone (even people who annoy me–especially people who annoy me) with kindness and compassion.
Make healthy food choices more often than not.
Move my body every day.
Please share what 2016 taught you and/or your goals for 2017 in the comments section.
I think I’ll try the one about thinking before I open my big mouth also….
The problem with keeping our big mouths shut is not really being able to know if the technique is successful. How will I know if I’ve actually saved myself some grief? Sigh. I’m going to try to do it anyway.
Happy New Year, Camilla.
One of my friends had a pretty bad year, and she said, “If next year isn’t better than this year, somebody’s gonna pay”.
Mind you, I didn’t vote for Trump. I’ve never liked Trump. Yes, he probably is a hateful, crass, misogynistic bully. BUT…… the descriptive words used for him aren’t NEARLY as bad as the ones legitimately used on the Clinton Bitch (even by democrats). And he isn’t surrounded by a huge number of dead people, like the Clintons. A woman president would be great — but let’s get a GOOD woman, not just ANY woman.
I cannot in any capacity support or stomach a man who has publicly stated that he starts kissing women without permission and thinks it’s ok to grab them by the pussies. Yes, Bill Clinton is a womanizer. I don’t like him much either. But at least he knows how to keep a private thought private. And I’m no big rah, rah Hillary Clinton supporter either. But at least neither of them are constantly on Twitter spewing ridiculous vitriol. Trump is a bully, plain and simple. I have no respect for him, and I have not one single nice or positive thing to say about him.
2016 was not a bad year for us, although a lot of our appliances bit the dust and had to be replaced. But if that’s as bad as it gets, I’ve got no complaints. I hope your 2017 is better than ever.
A dear friend of mine with cancer was “supposed” to die this year (according to original estimates when the cancer spread to the second kidney) and is still alive, and even feeling WELL, although is definitely not cured or anything. That makes 2016 a good year for me right there.
Marcia, I am glad to hear 2016 was pretty good for y’all, notwithstanding the broke down appliances. Here’s hoping for an even better 2017 for all of us!
Wishing you the best in 2017 !!
2016 wasn’t my best year, neither was 2015 nor 2014. But, I’m looking forward to reversing some personal trends in 2017 … better eating, more exercise, better attitudes, less drinking.
One of the highlights of 2016 was reading your blog … appreciate your effort in regards to blogging. Gives me a lift and some hope into an otherwise mundane 7:30 – 5:15 five days a week existence (which I do hope to improve in 2017).
Thanks for your sweet comment that one of your highlights of 2016 was reading my blog! I really appreciate hearing that.
All of your goals for 2017 sound really good and positive. I wish the best for you in 2017 too!
Thanks for reading, Dave.