Finding the Good in 2013
Dear 2013,
You were undoubtedly the worst year of my life...in so many ways. As people typically do when a brand new year starts, thoughts of the last year come to mind and new hopes surface for the coming year/the future. What was good about last year? What was bad about it? What gems can I pick out from a year that was pure hell? And more importantly, what is this "new year" going to bring and how am I going to step up to the challenge? It took some thinking and some collaborative brainstorming, but I did come up with my "Top Ten" moments or events of 2013 and truthfully, I could have come up with more than 10 if I tried, because always always there is some good in our days, no matter how sucky they seem to be at the time.
So here ya go, Dawn's Top Ten of 2013:
(these are in no particular order--just "top ten")
1. I started a blog!!! I took the plunge and did it. I enjoy writing and wondered for a long time if I could actually "blog." Would I have the time to put into it to make it what I envisioned I wanted it to be? Would it even be worth reading? What would my friends/family say? Well, the answers to the questions are all the same... "It doesn't matter about your worries or concerns. Just do it. Do it for you and if others read it and like it, then that's a bonus, but write for YOU." So I did and began this little blog on 9/13/13.
2. I met my 3rd brother for the first time ever!! John Fowler. He is the 2nd of my two older brothers. I had hoped and dreamed we would meet before something happened to either one of us and the weekend of my nephew's wedding, it happened. October 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. If you know me and my family history at all, you know the bigger picture here is that I HAVE 3 BROTHERS!!! I thought I was an only child for most of my life. So the fact that I have three brothers is a miracle in and of itself and I am beyond thankful for these 3 guys who have come into my life and found a place in my heart forever. I will need to blog about this family story one of these days. It's a doozy for sure! Just a word about John-- he has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and is currently undergoing chemo treatments in CT. Prayers appreciated.
3. I got to spend a fun weekend in Washington, DC with my daughter, Katelyn. We drove to DC very early on a June Saturday morning. We were going to get the rest of her stuff that she left at the townhouse. We decided we wanted to stay in downtown DC for once. I found a great deal at Hotel Lombardy right near Dupont Circle. We got there early afternoon, unloaded our bags, and took off to visit some of the monuments--Korean, Viet Nam, Lincoln, WWII where we took off our shoes and put our feet in the water. It felt so good. That was a first for both of us. :)
4. I got a tattoo!!! YES. I. DID!!! OMG!! I really did it. At age 50, this girl got a tattoo! This is another one of those things I've always wanted to do but was unsure b/c "what will people think?" "What if it is horrific looking?" "I'm too old now. I should've done this years ago if I'm going to do it." You know, crazy talk. I was at the beach with 3 of my kids and a great friend, Brown. Katelyn, Brown and I were sitting out on the beach one very sunny August day and we were just talking and the talk turned to "tattoos" and we said, "Let's do it. Let's go today and do it!" That is just what we did. All 3 of us got tattoos. It was Brown and my first tattoo and K's 2nd. I was nervous; I'm not gonna lie. Jared came along thinking he was going to talk me out of it and he didn't believe I would do it. I don't think Katelyn thought I would actually do it either. I got Jared to video the girl tattooing my foot. It was priceless!! I decided to get the tattoo on my right foot along the side of my foot... the words go from my heel to the little bone near my pinky toe. The words say, "After Rain Comes Sunshine." Before you ask, YES, it did hurt!! (like a mother!)
I chose this day or was brave enough to do it this day, because it happened to be my 29th wedding anniversary. August 3rd. I needed to do something totally out of my element-something courageous-something to mark this day as a success of survival. It was a terrible Anniversary day (J didn't even acknowledge the fact that it was our anniversary), but it was a good day to get a tattoo!! :)
AND THEN....
we went to see Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley!! (August 23 in Charlotte) Another FANTASTIC concert! We hit "Pay Dirt" on the summer concert tickets this year!
6. My trip to Miami... by myself... My last school work day was June 18th, and on June 20th, I flew to Ft. Lauderdale, arrived at midnight, took a shuttle to Miami (Surfside) and finally got into condo at 2am!! A friend owns a condo and graciously allowed me to stay for 2 weeks!! It was heaven. I rented a car for 7 days. I drove to South Beach one day and since I was already in Miami I decided I wanted to go to Key West for a little overnight stay. I've always wanted to go and this was the perfect time. I found a hotel while on the way down there (The Palms). I got to shop a little on Duval St., see the Southernmost point of the US (90 miles from Cuba), watch the Sunset from Mallory Square and eat dinner at a Cuban restaurant. It was a nice quick visit, but now I can say at least I've been to Key West. I flew back home July 3rd. I loved the beach/ocean in Miami. It's so different than here on the east coast of NC and SC. The water is so blue and clear. Can't believe it's the same Atlantic Ocean. I even found a bunch of Sea Glass while walking the beach. First time I've ever found sea glass. I also found some beautiful shells, again shells I rarely see here on NC/SC beaches.
7. The Girl's Christmas Get Together I hosted at my house Dec. 14th. This was actually the highlight of my whole Christmas season. I loved having my friends together in one spot for a period of time. We all truly enjoyed ourselves. (I want to write a separate post about this soon.)
8. My oldest son's reaction to his Christmas gifts... JR, my oldest, rarely shows the "kid side" of himself anymore, but this Christmas I saw it! He wanted a Fitbit Force for Christmas. I found one, at the 11th hour so to speak, and was excited for him to open it. He loved it of course, but he couldn't get it to work with his phone nor his computer...both too old for this new technology. He was bummed and asked me to take it back. Well, I got a text the day saying, "Mom, don't take that back yet. I think I figured out how to get it to work." His "how" was that he went and bought a brand new computer AND the Fitbit worked!! I was sitting on the couch and he comes into the room practically giddy with happiness and the excitement of a little kid and walks over to me and gives me the biggest hug and says, "Thank you so much for my Christmas. I love it!" Then he said, "It feels really good to have something nice again." His entire face was smiling and bright. In that moment, for me, it felt like Christmas b/c my melancholy boy was truly happy. I was also happy b/c he was able to go and buy himself a new computer. It made him feel good as well.
9. My daughter wrote our Christmas letter this year... I write a Christmas letter every year to put in with our Christmas card. I started this in 1991. I was overwhelmed with so much this year and was really stressing about how I was going to get the letter written... well, my sweet girl wrote it and emailed it to me and said, "You don't have to use this. I know you have so much on your plate, but I wanted to help." She did help and took an enormous load off my shoulders. I used her letter. She did a great job and I was so proud of her efforts. Perhaps I'll let her do it again...
10. Safe Havens from the mountains to the sea... I am fortunate that several of my friends have "other homes"-vacation homes- and they are so kind to offer them to me when I need an escape. Some I pay a nominal fee and others are "free". I am blessed to have these places to go and relax and to simply breathe again. I spent some of my best moments of 2013 at these "safe havens."
There you have it--my "top ten of 2013"... it was a heartbreaking devastating year to say the least and I feel like it's going to carry over into 2014, at least for awhile, but there will come a day when the hurt, pain and devastation will be behind me and I will be able to look to the future with hope. In the meantime, I must remember to look for the good even in the midst of the bad, because there IS good.
Happy New Year to all of you! Best wishes for 2014!
D~
You were undoubtedly the worst year of my life...in so many ways. As people typically do when a brand new year starts, thoughts of the last year come to mind and new hopes surface for the coming year/the future. What was good about last year? What was bad about it? What gems can I pick out from a year that was pure hell? And more importantly, what is this "new year" going to bring and how am I going to step up to the challenge? It took some thinking and some collaborative brainstorming, but I did come up with my "Top Ten" moments or events of 2013 and truthfully, I could have come up with more than 10 if I tried, because always always there is some good in our days, no matter how sucky they seem to be at the time.
So here ya go, Dawn's Top Ten of 2013:
(these are in no particular order--just "top ten")
1. I started a blog!!! I took the plunge and did it. I enjoy writing and wondered for a long time if I could actually "blog." Would I have the time to put into it to make it what I envisioned I wanted it to be? Would it even be worth reading? What would my friends/family say? Well, the answers to the questions are all the same... "It doesn't matter about your worries or concerns. Just do it. Do it for you and if others read it and like it, then that's a bonus, but write for YOU." So I did and began this little blog on 9/13/13.
A Southern Rehabilitation
A blog about changing courses and moving to Plan B.
www.asouthernrehabilitation.blogspot.com
 |
| L-R: Ray, Dawn, John |
3. I got to spend a fun weekend in Washington, DC with my daughter, Katelyn. We drove to DC very early on a June Saturday morning. We were going to get the rest of her stuff that she left at the townhouse. We decided we wanted to stay in downtown DC for once. I found a great deal at Hotel Lombardy right near Dupont Circle. We got there early afternoon, unloaded our bags, and took off to visit some of the monuments--Korean, Viet Nam, Lincoln, WWII where we took off our shoes and put our feet in the water. It felt so good. That was a first for both of us. :)
 |
| K sitting in front of Hotel Lombardy on Pennsylvania Ave. in downtown DC-June 2013 |
4. I got a tattoo!!! YES. I. DID!!! OMG!! I really did it. At age 50, this girl got a tattoo! This is another one of those things I've always wanted to do but was unsure b/c "what will people think?" "What if it is horrific looking?" "I'm too old now. I should've done this years ago if I'm going to do it." You know, crazy talk. I was at the beach with 3 of my kids and a great friend, Brown. Katelyn, Brown and I were sitting out on the beach one very sunny August day and we were just talking and the talk turned to "tattoos" and we said, "Let's do it. Let's go today and do it!" That is just what we did. All 3 of us got tattoos. It was Brown and my first tattoo and K's 2nd. I was nervous; I'm not gonna lie. Jared came along thinking he was going to talk me out of it and he didn't believe I would do it. I don't think Katelyn thought I would actually do it either. I got Jared to video the girl tattooing my foot. It was priceless!! I decided to get the tattoo on my right foot along the side of my foot... the words go from my heel to the little bone near my pinky toe. The words say, "After Rain Comes Sunshine." Before you ask, YES, it did hurt!! (like a mother!)
I chose this day or was brave enough to do it this day, because it happened to be my 29th wedding anniversary. August 3rd. I needed to do something totally out of my element-something courageous-something to mark this day as a success of survival. It was a terrible Anniversary day (J didn't even acknowledge the fact that it was our anniversary), but it was a good day to get a tattoo!! :)
5. Blake Shelton Concert (August 9 in Raleigh)... One of my TOP 3 BEST concerts EVER!! It was myself, Katelyn, and Katie--we had a blast!! However, it was hotter than Hades. I mean, HOT! A bottle of water cost $5, so I wouldn't get it. By the time that concert was over, I felt like I had been walking 20 hours in the desert!! This was an awesome concert! Marry me, Blake or let's just...! ha
we went to see Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley!! (August 23 in Charlotte) Another FANTASTIC concert! We hit "Pay Dirt" on the summer concert tickets this year!
6. My trip to Miami... by myself... My last school work day was June 18th, and on June 20th, I flew to Ft. Lauderdale, arrived at midnight, took a shuttle to Miami (Surfside) and finally got into condo at 2am!! A friend owns a condo and graciously allowed me to stay for 2 weeks!! It was heaven. I rented a car for 7 days. I drove to South Beach one day and since I was already in Miami I decided I wanted to go to Key West for a little overnight stay. I've always wanted to go and this was the perfect time. I found a hotel while on the way down there (The Palms). I got to shop a little on Duval St., see the Southernmost point of the US (90 miles from Cuba), watch the Sunset from Mallory Square and eat dinner at a Cuban restaurant. It was a nice quick visit, but now I can say at least I've been to Key West. I flew back home July 3rd. I loved the beach/ocean in Miami. It's so different than here on the east coast of NC and SC. The water is so blue and clear. Can't believe it's the same Atlantic Ocean. I even found a bunch of Sea Glass while walking the beach. First time I've ever found sea glass. I also found some beautiful shells, again shells I rarely see here on NC/SC beaches.
7. The Girl's Christmas Get Together I hosted at my house Dec. 14th. This was actually the highlight of my whole Christmas season. I loved having my friends together in one spot for a period of time. We all truly enjoyed ourselves. (I want to write a separate post about this soon.)
8. My oldest son's reaction to his Christmas gifts... JR, my oldest, rarely shows the "kid side" of himself anymore, but this Christmas I saw it! He wanted a Fitbit Force for Christmas. I found one, at the 11th hour so to speak, and was excited for him to open it. He loved it of course, but he couldn't get it to work with his phone nor his computer...both too old for this new technology. He was bummed and asked me to take it back. Well, I got a text the day saying, "Mom, don't take that back yet. I think I figured out how to get it to work." His "how" was that he went and bought a brand new computer AND the Fitbit worked!! I was sitting on the couch and he comes into the room practically giddy with happiness and the excitement of a little kid and walks over to me and gives me the biggest hug and says, "Thank you so much for my Christmas. I love it!" Then he said, "It feels really good to have something nice again." His entire face was smiling and bright. In that moment, for me, it felt like Christmas b/c my melancholy boy was truly happy. I was also happy b/c he was able to go and buy himself a new computer. It made him feel good as well.
9. My daughter wrote our Christmas letter this year... I write a Christmas letter every year to put in with our Christmas card. I started this in 1991. I was overwhelmed with so much this year and was really stressing about how I was going to get the letter written... well, my sweet girl wrote it and emailed it to me and said, "You don't have to use this. I know you have so much on your plate, but I wanted to help." She did help and took an enormous load off my shoulders. I used her letter. She did a great job and I was so proud of her efforts. Perhaps I'll let her do it again...
10. Safe Havens from the mountains to the sea... I am fortunate that several of my friends have "other homes"-vacation homes- and they are so kind to offer them to me when I need an escape. Some I pay a nominal fee and others are "free". I am blessed to have these places to go and relax and to simply breathe again. I spent some of my best moments of 2013 at these "safe havens."
There you have it--my "top ten of 2013"... it was a heartbreaking devastating year to say the least and I feel like it's going to carry over into 2014, at least for awhile, but there will come a day when the hurt, pain and devastation will be behind me and I will be able to look to the future with hope. In the meantime, I must remember to look for the good even in the midst of the bad, because there IS good.
Happy New Year to all of you! Best wishes for 2014!
D~
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