Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Bright and Filled with Potential

Wensday – Entry 45:

There are many people who want me to state that 2013 was my best year ever, but truthfully it was the hardest, most exhausting and stressful year I can ever remember living through. This was the year my favorite minivan was totaled and replaced with a pale imitation. This was the year I went through extensive physical therapy to treat two prolapsed disks in my neck and spine. This was the year my daughter's epilepsy worsened due to the same car accident, reaching life-threatening tonic clonic stages for the first time in her life. This was the year I spent months—MONTHS—sick with pneumonia and the flu. This was the year where I lived perilously close to financial Armageddon every single week.

No, it wasn't easy going, good, or an improvement. However, that doesn't mean there weren't positive events. This was the year that strangers blessed my family's life with their generosity. This was the year I finally settled on a book project I believed in enough to finish. This was the year I lost two inches off my waist. This was the year I had so many MRIs that I conquered my claustrophobia. This was the year I won a prolonged battle with the government over my daughter's disability payments. This was the year Dunkin Donuts moved into my neighborhood after 25 years of waiting. This was the year we hiked to a waterfall and climbed down a mountain.This was the year my life was filled with gorgeous sunsets and loving daughters, gracious parents and giving friends. This was the year I believed in myself, finished a book, and sent it off to an editor.

As I look over the past year, I realize am not a glass half full or empty kind of guy. I am a glass spilled on the carpet kind of guy. However, I survived and here I am looking out over 2014 and wondering what it has in store for me. I begin work on my middle grade novel this week as well as polish up my book on overcoming suicide for publication. 2013 may have been a random bag full of mixed curses and blessings, but 2014 looks bright and filled with potential in comparison.