Farewell 2017, Hello 2018!

Good Riddance 2017!

This past year was pretty dreary. We lost two of our cats, Sora and Evie. Our family dog Haru passed away. My sister’s fiance died unexpectedly Christmas Eve, and I had a near-death experience in April that put me the in the hospital for five days and on bed rest for almost two months. When not at work Karl had his hands full taking care of and supporting me this year. My health issues combined with an overwhelming class and workload left me depending on him more than ever. Fall semester was particularly grueling. It was absolutely the most intense and overwhelming semester of school I’ve ever experienced.

I feel like the bad outweighed the good of this past year but there was some good. We made major progress on the house. We went on several vacations and added Mexico to our list of international travels. I traveled to Waco, TX for my favorite photography conference and met up with my longtime online friend Danielle for the first time. The only other thing I can really say about this year is that I read more books and played more video games, at least over the summer, than I had in years past. I was part of a fun gaming group this summer and have been enjoying kicking butt in League of Legends. 

My father retired from work due to health issues, but I am happy to report that he seems to be doing a bit better now that he’s not working so hard. My brother and sister-in-law are expecting another little girl in February, and my mom is doing well and working hard as always. The older I get the more amazed I am by my mom. She is the glue that holds our family together and she works so hard and does so much. Just thinking about everything she does makes me feel like a total slacker. My sister has moved back in with my parents and is doing as well as can be expected given the death of her fiance.

I learned some new things this year, and I think Karl and I both grew as people and accomplished a few things, but 2017 was really just a year of surviving. We are hoping to make more progress on our home this coming year. I am hoping to develop some ideas for my MFA thesis. But our big goals for 2018 involve improving our physical, mental, and financial health in 2018.