I’m so ready to say goodbye to 2019! It sure was a helluva year, and I’m so glad that soon it will be behind us! It was, hands down, the hardest year of my life so far physically. I developed some pretty frustrating deficits and was scared for several months that they wouldn’t go away. I’m still scared sometimes but lately, luckily, I’m finding more hope (!!) and energy, and seeing some improvements in this body of mine. I’ve ran more miles this month than any other month this year (despite DNF’ing my first half marathon November 30– maybe that was just the motivation I needed!). As running is my greatest passion, I don’t know what life would be like without it, and I’m so glad I don’t have to find that out just yet.
Despite being so dang tough, there were also many beautiful and awesome things about 2019, and so much to be grateful for! I was lucky my mom Nancy and “bonus dad” Jim opened their home up to me (and my fur babies) and I moved in with them in February; I wasn’t thrilled about ‘moving in with my parents’ at 32 years old at first but it turned out to be a wonderful and peaceful experience, and I was (and am) so lucky to have all their help and support.
Also, this year my love Chris and I bought our first “home” together, on wheels—a travel trailer! And we’ve been lucky to spend most of our time together the past couple months in Everglades National Park, where he is currently working. We’ve been blessed with awesome and caring neighbors, and new (and old) friends also working in the park. To round out 2019, Chris and I were so lucky to have my mom and Jim down last week to celebrate Christmas with us. What a great way to end a tough year!
2019 was also my first full year in my adult life (and in over 18 years) that I didn’t have a job. Though I miss my family and my purpose at Greenspoon Marder immensely, and I’ve felt depressed and lost without the structure and productivity that job gave my life for several years, I also know I’ve been so lucky to be able to not work and just focus on rest/recovery and really taking care of myself. I miss work a lot sometimes, but I’m hoping to find a new purpose if my future doesn’t include a return to lawyering.
There have also been numerous other “gifts from the universe” this past year, far too many to list out. Just in the last couple weeks, I’ve noted many: twice, the skies have opened up during rain for ~20 min, with the perfect amount of time to get a two mile run in and return just as rain resumed. Last week, less than a mile into a run when I hit a wall oddly early, one of my neighbors unexpectedly rode by on his bicycle and offered kind words of encouragement that helped me dig deeper to keep going. I’ve found gifts in new friends who’ve come into my life with perfect timing and especially wise advice. Yesterday my feet felt tingly and like they were asleep before my run but I pushed myself to get my run in (because discipline > motivation!), where I saw my first “local” gator! He had moved on when I returned to see him again yesterday evening. You might call it God… I like to refer to these seemingly God-sent blessings/treasures/lucky things as “gifts from the universe”. Sometimes they’re disguised or cloaked in something seemingly negative, like hitting a wall on a run, but turn into special blessings/gifts. Focusing on all the good stuff and the gifts in my life helps me maintain more positivity and feel better and happier in general.
Six years ago this month I had the pleasure of meeting my good friend and “birthday twin” (whose bday is also December 17!) Kevin May on a flight from Miami to Minneapolis, a great fellow I’d known of because he’d worked with my dad for years. On that flight we spoke about “gifts from the universe” in our lives, and we’ve continued to share this hopeful perspective and our respective gifts with each other. We’ve also been discussing for a couple years now finding a way to open this up to more people and learning about (and celebrating!) others’ gifts. A couple weeks ago Kevin shared a video mentioning our plans to share more gifts from the universe among a larger community. I’m so excited for what’s in store! If you have any stories re gifts from the universe you’d like to share with us, please reach out!! Maybe we can share your story with others and help spread positivity!
I’m looking forward to 2020 and plan on making it the best year of my life yet! And I’m excited about experiencing more gifts from the universe and learning about those gifts going on in the lives around me! Cheers to 2020!!