Lessons From 2014

As promised... and as I have done for years... here are just some of the lessons I learned in 2014. There are probably many more - these are just the 20 that came to mind first:

1. It is possible to despise a year so much, you start up a collection of calendars with the sole intention of having a bonfire to try to erase the year
2. Iowa weather sucks – but the people are great!
3. Travel plans during a blizzard makes for some long hours in airports. But, is actually kind of fun. And educational.
4. Smiling and being really sweet and polite to crabby airport workers confuses the hell out of them. And it’s fun.
5. Seeing friends again after years is an amazing experience.
6. Great company, a fun bartender, a pool table, and way too much to drink = a wonderful way to spend a Saturday night
7. Hospitals suck
8. I’d make a decent single mother – but after being one for approximately 3 months this year, I really don’t think I want to be one.
9. Iowa is evil.
10. Losing a father hurts like hell.
11. It is possible to see someone and think “this is NOT him.”
12. Seeing another kid graduate is hard. Leaving him at a college dorm room is much harder.
13. I’m getting old.
14. It is a wonderful feeling to have great friends – the kind you can hang out with and do nothing, or party with, or just talk to.
15. I have incredible kids – the kind that have each others’ back, and my back. The kind that will give up plans to take care of family. The kind that will hold each other when times get rough (i.e. this entire year). The kind that can go through so much – losing a beloved grandfather, watching their father sick and in pain and carted off by ambulance, watching their mother emotionally fall apart, etc.  – and still be so strong for each other and others.
16. Dancing with my daughters in the kitchen is still one of the highlights of my life!
17. Having a child a couple hours away in emergency surgery, while having a medical emergency going on at home as well, sucks…. And makes one very pro-human-cloning.
18. Silent Night still makes me cry. A lot.
19. Sometimes a hug really does say it all, especially when you can’t find the words.
20. Wind sucks. It really screws up plans to grill, swim, or have a bonfire of 2014 calendars. 

I hope you all have a wonderful 2015!

 Oh, by the way.... the picture on this post was taken just after midnight last night. One of our traditions is to ring in the new year making snow angels.