But, no time for whining about what was not to be this past year, because whether or not there's another living soul whose eyes will fall upon this, tradition is tradition. Once you've done something for ten years in a row, there's simply no option of stopping, at least not to my routine-loving self. (For reference, it all began back in 2007 and continued through 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.) So, for the eleventh time, I'm going through the year's memory bank to pull together ten particular experiences or themes from the year that don't want to be forgotten, but instead, deserve one night to bask in their glory. For a year in which the world turned upside down and a shit-ton of events and previously impossible-seeming occurrences actually did occur, taking a moment to relish in the good may be just about the only mental health care that will soon be available. Ahem. Let's get moving.
The Top Ten Things that I Liked, Laughed At, Smiled About, or Generally-Remember-in-a-Fond-Way of 2017:
10. There is no true peace without justice and equity for all.
The year started off with a gathering in Washington, DC, which I was able to participate in even after moving 6.5 hours away from the area. Thanks to good friends, the weekend was empowering, motivating, and reassuring. The Women's March on Washington on Saturday, January 21, 2017, was a day in history that I was so thankful to be a part of, standing beside hundreds of thousands of others who were moved to speak out. I truly believe that even as the shit continues to hit the fan in our government, this movement is important and making a difference. I won't be able to travel next month to Vegas for the follow-up march, but my heart will be there.
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| Just a few shots from the day. |
9. Escapism had its place, too, for drinking and knowing things is tough work.
That's right, I'm going from social justice to Game of Thrones. Because that's how life goes, right? Some moments are serious and deep, and then you spend every evening for weeks on end leaving it all behind for an hour or two of highly attractive, heavily accented fictional characters fighting for power. With dragons. Yes, I got more than a little obsessed with the world of Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms this year, and 2019 is a helluva long way off to return. But, all seven seasons were consumed, with some episodes rewatched when it was all over because I finally understood what I was watching and wanted to go back and see what I'd missed in my earlier confusion. I even read the first novel A Game of Thrones after considerable urging from a certain husband of mine. I'll probably pick up the next one sometime in the new year, but those books are some commitments, I tell you. For now, I'll enjoy the Google recommended GoT articles that pop up on my phone every day as a result of repeated searches for clarification while watching the series. Oh, and don't forget the memes. Hot damn, the interwebs are a treasure trove of GoT memes. Maybe we all need to find a little of our inner Olenna more in 2018.
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| Loyalty personified. |
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| My favorite character of them all. Tell Cersei. |
8. We may have moved, but friends are forever.
How lucky we are to be able to travel and see our beloved friends from our old hometown. This year allowed for several of these trips, and our fortune is magnified by the fact that new OH friends and old MD friends have met and spent time on some of these trips, making the collision of both worlds an incredibly positive experience! Early spring in Tennessee made for a reunion with pals a delight, as did the infamous Labor Day weekend celebrations back in our old town. An autumn camping trip in Pennsylvania was chilly and perfect, and a Ladies' Weekend in Deep Creek, Maryland brought laughs and rants and hot tub talks and tequila shots. Finding your people is an all-important task. Keeping them close, even when you're far away, is imperative.
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| Smoky Mountains, grumpy kids, adorable doggy pals reunited, and parents pretending to be grumpy. Thanks, TN! |
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| Oh, these people. They fill my heart. |
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| Fires, hikes, and dear friends made for many happy PA campers. |
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To finally be in a position to host out of town visitors comfortably in our house is a wonderful feeling we reveled in this year. My parents were the first to officially break in the guest room, though other family members were so kind as to visit when we were first moving in. For all their efforts in helping us get the first boxes moved over and emptying out the storage unit, they were rewarded with air mattresses on the floors of empty rooms. Damn, they were troopers. The guest room saw family from Florida and Virginia during their stays, and each time, it was delightful to share our new town and its quirks and joys with loved ones. We're always open to guests, so hopefully, 2018 will bring even more!
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| We worked hard AND we played hard! |
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| So happy to have my parents here!! |
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| They came all the way from Florida to play games and take goofy pics! |
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| First Xmas in the house was perfect with grandparents! |
6. He's such a handsome gentleman.
Hi, my name is Dawn and I'm addicted to taking pictures of my dog. I adore Max more than words can convey. This dog is truly an old soul, or more like an old man's soul stuck in the body of a mini-dachshund. He can usually be found under a blanket. Forget using one of the blankets that we've purchased just for him. If a blanket exists, it is Max's blanket. At the moment in which I'm typing these words, Max is lying along my right side, under a snowman blanket (not supposed to be his), squeezed in between my legs and the armrest of the easy chair. This guy is never very far from someone, he loves/hates/obsesses over his 'babies'-- two little doggie stuffies, one monkey, and the newest, a stuffed dachshund. The first three are in various states of recovery from injuries-- chewed off eyeballs, chewed off legs/arms, chewed off ears. They're really Frankenbabies at this point, sloppily sewed back up. But Max carries them around, whines until he can "bury" them in JAM's futon, and sometimes plays a moment of fetch with them if the mood strikes him right. I could go on and on about this dog because clearly, he's my favorite. He's my loyal walk companion, always tolerating my desire to sit by the river and watch the birds even when he wants to walk, and he's a blast to take selfies with. As long as it's not thundering, he's a relaxed and chill guy. Behold Maxie Max, the best dog ever. Yes, he's a good boy.
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| The many faces and poses of Max. |
5. What a crappy idea.
When I first saw this Halloween costume idea online, I chuckled and thought, "Oh boy, Pudge would love this... I better not show him." I quickly abandoned that sentiment, thinking that even not-crafty me could tackle a homemade costume like this one. In fact, it wouldn't even be the first foray into cardboard-based costumes. (I'm looking at you, Planet Mars!) Well, wouldn't you know it, as soon as I showed him the post, he was all in. And as a result, our jokester (at that point almost-) 10-year-old walked the neighborhood begging for candy as a big old pile of dung. The Poop Emoji has long been his favorite of the emojis-- shocker, I know!-- and he was thrilled to have helped spray paint, trying hard to make the swirly lines of the emoji appear. This now stands propped up against his bedroom wall as a decoration, making it one of the longest-used costumes of my time as a parent.
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| Happy Poop. And yes, that second photo is exactly what you think it is. |
4. That grin says it all.
These are likely just the beginning chapters of her coming years of being on stage, and I'm happy to have the photos and memories to cherish. Back in March, before the end of her 5th grade year, Red was cast as 1/3 of the Cheshire Cat in her school production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. As the head, along with the torso and the lower half ("I'm the butt!"--her friend upon learning the casting assignments), she acted as the narrator of the play and the bearer of the occasional well-known grin. It was such a joy to see her up there, losing all her nervousness, using her perfect-for-the-stage / who-needs-a-mic voice to help move the story along. She was funny, had fantastic facial expressions, and looked completely natural on the stage. This year's school production is on a later schedule, but hopefully, she'll get a cool part in that one, too.
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| We knew her when! |
3. When he puts his mind to something...
This summer just before JAM turned 17, he completed an internship that truly brought out the best in him. I don't think I can say anything more appropriate than what I posted to FB on the occasion, so I'll share it here to represent my most proud moment of this incredible young man who I get to call my son.
"We attended a ceremony to mark the end of a 7-week internship for the teen tonight. We heard about his leadership skills and unflagging hard work and good spirit. His team worked with members of the community to create and maintain sustenance gardens, as well as providing assistance with community lunches that sometimes included the very crops they were growing on the work site. Here Justin is speaking to the group of leaders, interns, and family members at the ceremony describing his green bean crop and what he learned this summer. Scott and I are so incredibly proud of the spirit and effort he put into this experience. He worked through insanely hot days, often riding his bike to and from work for a total of an hour in addition to his 8 hour work day, and I can honestly say that he never complained about the job once. We got a serious preview this summer of the man he is going to be."
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| Proud mama moment-- look at my baby!! |
2. Home, freaking sweet, home.
Though the purchase went through last December, the fates were surely looking out for us when they landed us in a position of not having to break our rental lease because the sellers of our new house didn't want to move out right away. Enter six months of being landlords (ha!) and patiently (double ha!) waiting for moving day to come. By the end of June, we were SO READY. It was quite the process, and thankfully, we had some fantastic helpers and we got it done. Now, another six months later, it is so clearly home. I still can't believe how much we lucked out with this house. The children are happy in their own bedrooms, Hubby has his very own office, and I have a room dedicated to my love of books! My very own little library, complete with comfy seats for reading or simply staring at all my picture books in one space. We're talking complete hashtag-blessed living. And, the place looks awesome in holiday lights!
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| I love walking through our blue door to come home every day! |
1. “An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.” -Friedrich Nietzsche
No doubt of all, the top spot on this list was the dream that came true in 2017. Paris in springtime. The City of Love on our 19th anniversary. A kiss with my true love under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Seriously, I could go on with cliche after cliche, but it was everything I could ever have dreamed, and more. (See?) I am beyond thankful to my in-laws who helped to make the magic happen and even took our crazy kids for the week in our absence. I cried in front of Monet's paintings, and in his adorable house in Giverny, and when I first saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance. Yes, I cried a whole lot in Paris, but we laughed a ton, too. Hubby and I ate our weight in cheese, or maybe that was just me. Croissants and crepes were ever-present, but we also walked miles and miles and miles each day. I honestly couldn't have loved my time in France any more, except if we had been able to stay for twice or three times as long! I don't know that I'll ever get to return, but to have spent a week there at all was unbelievably magnificent.
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| Best. Week. Ever. |
I don't know what to say that I haven't said before at the end of one of these posts. I quite like the fresh start that a new year brings, literally and figuratively. It can be said that 2017 was a year of surprise after surprise. On a personal note those surprises were quite frequently positive, but on national and international fronts, the same cannot be said. I've never been as disgusted by and terrified of my government before this year, and god I hope it doesn't have to get worse before it gets better, but my usually pessimistic self figures that's probably the case. My heart longs for a 2018 with more justice and equality and representation across the board. Oh, and ITMFA, and while you're at it, go for his entire administration. We're all rooting for you, 2018. Let's do this.
With a cup o' kindness yet,
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