The end of the year is traditionally a time of reflection. I gave up on making "resolutions" a long time ago but I do believe in acknowledging the accomplishments of the past year, and setting goals for the New Year.
Last year around this time, I wrote some general goals on a bunch of 3x5 index cards and pinned them to the bulletin board in my home office. When I packed for the writer residency, I looked up at these cards and thought, "Wow, I actually did what I set out to do." In truth, I did more than what was on those cards.
In 2012, I...
- Survived the first year of grief, including the anniversary of K's seizures, hospice, our wedding and his passing.
- Took a Caribbean dance class, stepping waaaayyyy out of my comfort zone to learn traditional dances from Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, Cuba, Belize and Puerto Rico.
- Wrote my first book and gave it to my mentor, closest family and friends for feedback.
- Went to my first ever writer's conference (the first professional event since K's passing) and pitched my book to strangers and agents, in addition to learning a heck of a lot.
- Applied to at least a dozen writer residencies and competitions, got rejected by most, accepted to one, and still waiting to hear on a couple of others.
- Learned how to ride a motorcycle and took my first ride on the streets of LA.
- "Faux quit" my job (i.e. expressed the desire to but didn't formally quit because I realized it was a mistake).
- Started this blog.
- Adopted a puppy.
- Started writing a television pilot.
- Got a leave of absence from my job in order to attend Vermont writer's residency.
- Sent out all the Thank You cards to people who helped me and K that I didn't have energy to send out last year.
I did all of these things despite many tears, fears and doubts. And if I can do it, you can do it too.
To those of you still in the tightest grip of grief, I encourage you to keep processing, expressing and feeling your feelings. But please don't give up on life. Your loved one would want you to keep going, keep pursuing your dreams and aspirations, and he/she is rooting for you to succeed.
For me personally, I feel almost an obligation to live the life my husband wanted for me, to do the things he can no longer do, things we talked about but can no longer experience together (in a physical sense). I am inspired by him every day to keep trying and to not give up. It's been challenging to say the least, but his love and strength of character carries me through.
Tomorrow, I'll write my goals for 2013.