End of the Year Bloggy Review– Now With Photos and Audience Participation!!!
Well, as is my wont, I’m waxing all philosphical and whatnot about the end of 2010.
All in all? Not a bad year.
In the plus column:
- Both parents = still alive. (Ditto for friends, loved ones and myself.) This is a biggie.
- Inexplicably, I am still getting paid to write stuff. OK, not a lot, but still. If I could figure out a way to add several big fat zeroes to the end of my yearly total, I might be able to make a living at this thing. **Note: NOT referring to blogging, however– would have to add innumerable/ad-infinitum zeroes to that dang total, but then again, that’s not really what it’s all about, is it?** (See also: This.)
- Despite the fact that I share living space with not one but TWO teenage girls and an emotion-driven artiste/gospel singer, we all still like, nay, LOVE each other. And please note that out of all of the aforementioned, yours truly (who happens to be, ahem, “of a certain age” if you get my drift) is hands down the least drama-queeny of the whole bunch, just sayin’. (Yay me!)
- Life continues to feel like it’s full of possibilities! In spite of what is commonly referred to as ‘reality,’ I still harbor lots of dreams… Of actually writing that book, of Russ and I living for a year in Europe, of taking the girls back to New Hampshire next summer and renting the old Bette Davis house again, of learning to speak another language fluently (OK, I don’t actually want to study another language, I’d just like to wake up one morning knowing how to speak it– hey, I said these were dreams), of hitting the lottery, of actually *playing* the lottery (I’m cheap), of Pip never peeing in my laundry room again, of finally getting new countertops– you know, like that. It could happen.
- And at the risk of lapsing into cliche-land, one of the biggest pluses of this past year has been this crazy blog and the ‘Bloomr Nation that has sprung up willy-nilly all around it. In all seriousness, I really love what happens here in my little corner of the blogosphere– especially the community/fellowship/support group/swap meet/prayer circle-vibe we get going in the Comment section. Oh yes, I’ve certainly enjoyed the blogging opportunities that have come my way this year, I love going to conferences and I’ve enjoyed being an Ambassador (ess) and reviewing frozen pizza, but honestly the main reason this blog exists as far as I’m concerned is the connection that happens here between all of us. (Feel free to sing Kum-by-yah right about now.)
Which brings us to the negative column of 2010:
OK, give me a minute.
- Well, there is the fact that Madi Rose is a senior and I’m having those inevitable “She can’t leave next year, she’s MAH BABYYYYYYYYY!!!!” moments on a regular basis. Also those “Wait, I want another run at this, I want a parenting do-over– I KNOW I can be a perfect mom this time!” moments. My main coping mechanism at this point is just to stick my fingers in my ears and LA LA LA LA real loud whenever I’m forced to think about the reality of Madi not living here in this house right upstairs with her messy room and rampant germaphobia and weird food cravings and wacky sense of humor and every other wonderfully quirky, much loved, fully celebrated idiosyncratic Madi-ism. Also I’m wondering if college might be a good time to start homeschooling… Just kidding. Sort of.
- And I guess I have to acknowledge that the 2010 economy kind of sucks, which makes that whole pesky “making a living” thing a little more complicated. Blah di blah blah. Money– who came up with that idea, anyway? I think the barter system should be a perfectly acceptable way to pay for goods and services and college tuition, don’t you? Between Russ’ vocal stylings and my way with cookie decorating, we’d be RICH RICH RICH, I tell ya!
- There’s also aging. Yes, despite appearing to be as eternally young and fresh-faced as springtime (shut it– that’s why God invented photo-shopping), it seems I am indeed getting older. As in creaky-knees and I-think-I-just-peed-a-little-when-I-sneezed older, which is quite frankly, absolutely shocking to me. I’ve had to face the hard truth that though I don’t happen to have grandchildren yet, (being a late-bloomer and all), I am certainly OLD ENOUGH to have grandchildren. This seems somehow fundamentally wrong to me– doesn’t it to you too? I mean, how can I be (technically) old enough to have somebody call me Meemaw when I still picture myself as the blushing ingenue/young upstart of this melodrama I like to call My Life? Someone should speak to God’s Casting Department about this, obviously something is very wrong, here. I CANNOT possibly have peaked in the ’80’s, that’s just not fair on so many levels. Seriously. Who wants to believe that THIS is as good as it gets?!
(Although I do feel compelled to mention that since no one is the boss of me, today at noon o’clock I was still lounging around in bed, drinking my second cup of coffee while wearing a sequiny leopard print top and eating a chicken salad sandwich. Why? BECAUSE I CAN. Age does have some perks.)
That’s really about all the negatives I could come up with for the Year of Our Lord 2010. Truth be told, we have been blessed beyond measure in all of the things that really count, and I am grateful to the point of obnoxiousness for all of them. Including YOU GUYS.
So before I get all maudlin, I’d like to close with a photo montage of the last week AND I’d also like to pose this question for you to answer in the comment section below: What were YOUR positives and negatives in 2010…?
OH, and before I forget–
Annnnd it’s picture time!
CHRISTMAS EVE AT MOMMA JUNE’S HOUSE:
**OK, first Russ makes us sing Christmas carols.
**We even have sheet music.
**This must have been a really fast one!
**Next, Stuart reads the Christmas story…
**Listening intently, from L to R: Ann (Stuart’s daughter-in-law), David (Stuart’s son), Hot Cousin Billy and Madi.
**Then– PRESENTS! Madi looks a little skeptical about this one…
**So many presents… Even the dogs (of which there were MANY) are exhausted.
**And finally, we eat.
CHRISTMAS MORNING AT MOM AND DADDY’S HOUSE:
**We began the festivities with a new holiday tradition this year: Papa falling through his chair! I’m not even kidding. He was JUST FINE, which is why Russ is smiling– and the reason Nanno is bending over like that is because she was laughing her dang head off.
**The girls found their stockings…
**…and then moved on to the main event, with an appreciative audience of onlookers.
**Russ was obviously a good boy this year.
**Charlotte and I test driving her new hats.
**And finally, here’s why I’m glad I have girls– they give me presents like girly panties, raspberry-scented lotion and chocolate!
OK, now it’s your turn to tell me about your “best/worst part of last year”!
