2012

This has not been my favorite year ever.  It started out fine, with an insanely busy rep season at work. Dean turned 4, which is my favorite age so far. I turned 35 which seemed incredibly silly and funny to me for some reason.  Things were ok until March came along with a blow that knocked me down and still hasn't allowed me to stand up as straight as I once did. I lost my Mim and things have not been the same since. Sure, it's gotten easier, but it's also gotten harder in some ways, which I did not expect. 

May was a good month, with our Rep season ending on a very high note. The last week of that season is one I'll always remember. I worked with great people, did great shows, and played hard.  People seemed to be in a hightened state of awareness that week. Many of us were about to part ways, at least for a while, and people actually said what was on their minds. The goodbyes I said and heard that week were incredible.

The summer was hot. Marcus and I both gained weight, which stunk, I did a really fun musical, the guys were able to stay with me in the town where I worked, and we got to go on vacation with our family.  In August, I saw my nephrologist, who decided it would be a great idea for me to give up caffeine. Thinking this would never happen, I went with a cold-turkey approach, immediately cutting down to one cup of coffee per day.  I have not had a Coke Zero since October. Ok, that's a lie, I had one at the movies the other night. But you know? I won't have another one.  It tasted like chemicals, gave me a headache, made my stomach bubbly, kept me awake and gave me heart flutters.  No thanks.  I'll stick to my 96 ounces of water (and about as many trips to the bathroom, thank you, hydration).

Dean started his second year of preschool in the fall. I can't get over how much he's changed in these past few months. (More about that in his birthday post on the 5th of January.)  Things started getting harder at work in those months and the balance between home and the job got extremely difficult.   I went through the hardest tech week of my life, sleepwalked through Thanksgiving, and tried desperately to provide Dean with the magical Christmas I wanted him to have this year. (I'd say that was a success.)  I hit the wall and made the decision to leave my job, a job for which I was perfect, a job I adored. It was absolutely the right decision because no matter how much I loved the job, it was no longer worth the time it took me away from Dean and Marcus. It's been a long time since I've started a new job, but I'm looking very forward to it.

Just when we thought we were cruising toward a peaceful end to the year, my dad had a mild stroke. He is doing GREAT, following his therapy and medication schedule perfectly, and is expected to make a full recovery, but goodness. That'll make your blood pressure rise.

So many friends have experienced sickness, loss and hardship, and for some reason, it seems like there are more of these things around this year than before. Maybe it's the age we all are, maybe it's just been that kind of year. We were certainly all put together at the exact right time to support each other through it all.

I would not call 2012 an awful year. There have been some very happy spots. But this will always stand out as the year we lost Mim, the year of the great job debacle, and the year of the awful food poisoning, which I had in September.

So bring it on, 2013. 13's always been kind of a lucky number for me, so show me what you've got! And please, be nice.

Happy new year, everyone!

Comments

[rkmama]

What a year!! Looking forward to all your adventures in 2013.

[eva]

Bring on 2013 indeed! I am so glad that your dad is improving and that you seem to have a positive outlook. I was hoping to see maybe a year in review birthday video for a certain 5 year old boy.....