I’ve been reading many of those “Reflections of 2019” posts on Facebook and other social media sites. Some were written by good friends and others by casual acquaintances. A few are all loaded with humble brags and dramatic proclamations and predictions. I’m reminded by the content in the more sincere and reflective ones that peaks and valleys are prevalent in every life. I’m no different. There were some real highs and some lows, starting primarily in January with the passing of my beloved mother-in-law, Priscilla. That was tough. I also lost my job, working at a great studio with extremely talented friends and people whose company I really enjoyed.
On the positive side, I started to paint a lot more, rediscovering my passion for traditional techniques and connecting with other artists with a renewed vigor. My four children are all pursuing their dreams and are healthy. My mother turned 91 and I get to see and talk to her often, I especially enjoy our weekly lunches. Certainly these are all peaks to the aforementioned valleys.
But I have to say getting my chest cracked open was definitely the mountaintop of highlights.
You read that correctly, highlights.
Because when I take a step back from the realization that I had open heart surgery this past May and consider what really occurred, all I’m left with is the fact that I am one blessed Mofo!
So many things went my way. From the series of events leading to discovering my undetected aneurysm to the team of professionals who worked diligently so it could be removed and the nurses who took care of me, not to mention my family and friends who loved me, the neighbors who made meals for us, bestowed us with gifts, gave to us their time, the rehab team who put me back on the road to health, all of it was a blur, a pastiche of sobering and humbling activity, a generally surreal feeling that was just super trippy.
It was like God tapped me on the shoulder to say, “Mortality. Look it up.”
So I don’t have any proclamations of what great things I plan on achieving in 2020 or how I’m going to make the New Year “my bitch.” Nope, I have no earthly idea what it holds.
But if I’m blessed enough to see it, I’m going to try to savor every day.