As I take stock of the year 2014, I am reminded of some rather big moments that upon first glance are "negative". 2014 started with us bailing Nate out of jail. Woohoo!!! Happy New Year! In a years time, we had to go to court for him twice for driving paper work issues (not for anything major, but still a major pain in the ass). January 1st found me in huge amounts of back pain that only got worse and required back surgery that has taken entirely too long to recover from. A year later, I think I can finally say I am 100% recovered from an injury that happened as I rang in 2014. Crazy! Then, of course, there is the "big one". Nick being killed in a motorcycle accident has ineffably changed our lives. It is the single most painful thing to happen to any of us in this family, and we are still reeling from it. Then add to that, the Burb losing it's engine and Nate having an accident in my car (which is kinda like payback for me damaging his car over the summer). There have been lots of other things mixed in there that I just can't discus here in public. Rest assured, this family has been through the wringer in 2014.
I went back to look at last year's blogs, and there was no recap of the year 2013. There was nothing celebrating the accomplishments of the year and nothing marking the challenges of the year. I find that odd, but maybe this year I feel the need to really look at what 2014 has brought into my life.
I started this post with the bad stuff on purpose. I wanted to end on a positive note. So here are the good things....
I spent a great deal of time with some amazing people standing up for equality for the LGBT community and even got arrested for it. This also has ineffably changed my life.
With all of the pain my back was in, at least it finally healed and I can start 2015 off on the right foot!
Jeannine came to visit in Idaho and showed me that I CAN swim laps in a lap pool without dieing. We spent an amazing weekend laughing together!
I have had some amazing trips to Washington this year. I got to celebrate Jeannine's 40th birthday with her and we got matching sister wife tattoos. I got to reconnect on a deeper level with childhood classmate, Angie and her hubby Todd. I got to hang out with other friends I have made through Jeannine and share more laughs with them!
In June, we got to bring Suzy and Nick to Idaho for a family camp out up in a yurt........you can only imagine what that trip means to us now. I am so grateful we were able to get family photos taken on that trip!
Tracy worked some crazy hours this year and had a wild adventure with a start up social App called Salmon Social. It was a wild and crazy couple of months!
My friends Brandon and Megan moved here from Texas and I have had so much fun hanging out with them.
We moved into our new home! That is exciting!
Omi changed schools and has made new friends and for the most part has settled in well there. Her grades are excellent. And she has been dating the same boy for over a year now.
Nate has had his bumps in the road with jobs, but his enthusiasm and creativity continue to amaze me.
And now, Suzy is here with us and my mom lives close by and I do not have to worry about her too much. For that I am grateful.
I really do have many things in this life to be grateful for. I have an amazing family, both immediate and extended. I am always provided for and never have to worry. I have an amazing amount of love in my life. Even if my body is not at its strongest at the moment, it has unlimited potential that I am tapping into and taking advantage of again this year to recapture what I have temporarily lost due to injury. I can always find something to laugh about. I always have dance and my sparkle sisters to keep me smiling. There is always food in my kitchen and blankets to keep me warm. When I am alone, I have my amazing doggy to keep my spirits up. I am blessed.
As this year comes to a close and I look into 2015, I continue to keep my heart open and expect miracles and amazing things to happen. Love is all there is....even when I feel immense loss or crazy amounts of anger. I can only feel and recognize those things because I know what it is to feel joy, love, and peace. There can never be darkness without first knowing the light. And I am grateful.
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