Hello Everyone and Welcome to 2017!
Yes, sir before the clock struck 12 last night, a lot of people said they would be very pleased to see the back end of 2016. Once midnight hit they let out a soul wrenching “Happy New Year”, or texted a meaningful “Happy New Year”, or screamed nonsense to the night gods and swore they will never drink again and please for the love of all that’s holy, do not move me from this snow bank. You know, normal new years stuff.
And
then, after the cheering faded away, and the attempted singing of Old Lang Syne
lost its luster, they let out deep sigh of relief that 2016 was over and now
hope with every fiber of their being that 2017 will be grand.
2016...not the best year, but was it as horrible as some people are saying? All years have tragedy, heartache, events that make us shake our
heads. Every year we all go through a myriad of ups and downs with both the world
and in our own lives. Every year we look at each other and ask, “Gah! When will this year end?” or say, “Fast the way the old year passes,
fa la la la la”, and yet, when we think about last January, it’s hard to
remember what we did, or what happened in the world. A year is a long time.
Good things will happen. Bad things will happen. Events you planned, will come
to fruition. Happenstances that you never thought would happen, will happen.
People you thought were funky keen on January 1st could quite
possibly be your enemy come December 31st. (It’s good to have goals
right out the gate.)
Well, whatever the reasons, I’m not going
to dwell on the negative. A lot of sadness occurred, and events that I refuse
to talk about because they send me into a white-hot rage took place. In my personal
work bubble, I’m just going to say that I, and most of my co-workers, have found
this year to be somewhat challenging. We all hope that work wise, 2017 will not
be a repeat of 2016.
So, in celebration of hope, I’m going to go
through my year and list positive happenings from every month. This is for me,
mainly, but I join you to stick around and share in my reflection of 2016, the
year many people were itching to say goodbye to.
January: I’ve got my calendar beside me,
the big one we keep in the kitchen with all our what’s happenings on it…And…wow,
the memories are foggy. OH, a lovely man who has now directed me 4 times asked
me to be in 2 plays this year. That was very flattering and I was happy to
accept.
February: Oh boy…ok, not going to lie…this
was a dark month. I’m struggling here. Right, on February 7th I went
crazy and bought tickets for myself, my daughter Sorcha and her friend Cas for a
Supernatural (as in the TV show) Convention. It was happening in October in
Toronto. It was something to look forward to.
March: I had a couple days off to
myself, but they weren’t supposed to be. They were supposed to be spent with my
daughter, during March break, but March break turned out to be the week after. This may seem mean to be happy to have time alone, but sometimes you just have to binge watch something silly to feel that all is right with the world.
April:
On April 15th, I went to a play that had many people in it
that I like and have worked with before, but this one was extra special because
my husband was in it. Sean and I met in college in a drama program and we
worked together in and out of school a lot, but the last time Sean had been on
stage was almost 20 years before. I was so proud of him and I’m excited because this we get to be in a play together.
May: Through the Writers’ Federation of New
Brunswick, I received an honourary mention for a short story I’d written
called, “Falling Into”. I’m very proud of this story, but honestly, I wrote it to get rid of some demons and wasn't sure if anyone else would connect with the tale of a young lady who wakes up
one morning to find that her spine, her metaphorical spine, has left her to go do all
the things she doesn’t have the courage to do.
June: At work, I took the plunge and
joined a particularly challenging team. It almost broke me, and I only lasted 8
weeks, but I learned a lot and don’t regret it. It may be strange to find
something that brought a HUGE amount of bone crushing stress to my life to be
somewhat positive, but it was. I won’t do it again. Don’t make me go back, but
it was.
July: Very good friends of ours from
Toronto came to visit for a weekend. They are some of our favorite people and
always bring happiness and good vibes into our lives. It was lovely. Also, Sorcha and I took an overnight trip to Moncton to spend time with great people.
These friends are always a breath of fresh air and it’s always nice to spend
time with them.
August: This is the month my year got
better and it was in large part to going on a road trip around the east coast with one of
my oldest and dearest friends. It was exactly what I needed to break from a lot
of the stress chains that were preventing me from seeing how much good I have in
my life. I can’t thank Kim enough for that trip. It was beautiful.
September: Sean and I had a getaway to St.
Andrews, New Brunswick. We went whale watching, ate at some great restaurants,
stayed at a beautiful spot, saw a friend I hadn’t seen in a few years and
bought 2 of her beautiful paintings. If you’ve never been to St. Andrews drop
what you’re doing and go now. You won’t regret it.
October: This month is usually our best
month of the year and once again, it did not disappoint. I could go on and on
about our trip to Toronto for the Supernatural Convention, but in brief I'll say it was an incredible experience. Not only was the convention itself a great
time, but we had perfect weather, saw lots of good friends, and went to the
Royal Ontario Museum. It was an exhausting, but highly memorable and exciting 5
days.
November: This was the month of plays. Both
my daughter and I were involved in productions and they went up only a
week apart. The play she was in, “The Lion King”, was an absolute joy. All the
cast and crew worked so hard to put on this much beloved musical. It was
beautiful and I was, and am, so proud of all of them.
The play I was in, “Waiting for the Parade”
was on of the best plays I’ve been in. It was perfectly written, with well developed
characters and it was a challenge I needed in my creative life. I’ve been
playing around on the piano since I could sit at one. I took lessons off and on
in my teens, but had only played publicly once. (I was 14, it was a recital, I'm sorry Anne Murray for butchering one of your tunes.) In the play, my character played
the piano and sang and ordered people around all at the same time. I was
nervous, and thought I'd maybe taken too much on, but after I enlisted the help of the very talented and inspirational
Margaret Craig, my confidence grew and I did it; I played the piano
on stage, in front of people, and survived. Not only that, I screwed up, big
time one night, and survived. And while I did a bit of...ok a lot of...ego beating back stage,
once I’d settled down, I felt prouder of myself than I’ve possibly ever felt. I'd
messed up in front of a live audience, I'd had to quickly find a way out of it, not melt
down and stay in character. It was an actor’s nightmare and I lived it in front
of 200 people and pulled through. What's that universe? Why yes, I'll take that high five. Thank-you.
And finally,
December: A look at our calendar shows that
the Rule’s were a social bunch! It was month of dinners, phone calls
to loved ones, parties and long chats with great friends. Last night, New
Year’s Eve was full of laughter and absolute silliness, a perfect ending to any
year!
Other events, unfortunately trying ones, peppered our year and gave
it a hue of stress that made for some tough times. My Mum suffered an injury so
severe last February that we weren’t sure if she’d ever be able to walk
properly again, but she healed and overcame a lot of odds. She’s a pillar of
strength and I admire her beyond words. My job is beyond crazy, but I made it.
I’m still standing and come January 3, 2017 I’ll be back at my desk, working
away, hoping things will get better. My daughter has had her ups and downs too
and Sean, but we’re a close family and we stick together. We have each others
backs. We’re each others rocks.
Strong family, wonderful friends, good
fortune and a happy home. We had them at the beginning of 2016 and we still
have them now.
So while for some 2016 was a year to forget, it gave us a lot to remember and to cherish.
2016...am I right? It was a pretty good year.
Cin
