Around this time of year with only a couple of days -that
are filled with mixed emotions - left in the calendar, I find myself curled up
in my own good old blanket with a cup of tea, reminiscing about what it’s been
like for the past 12 months. Has it treated me right? Yup, it has to a certain
degree.
By the end of 2017, my husband and I had to be jet-setting
between our old home in Illinois and this new place in Texas in the midst of the
process of inter-States moving. Keeping the old house in tip top shape and
presentable to sell in the local housing market was physically and mentally
exhausting. (Especially, dealing with grass management ‘till our house was sold
was so challenging when we are literally not living there anymore. What
frustrated us more was coming to realize that our 10-year-old neighborhood had filed
a report to the city about our UNKEMPT LAWNS so that we’d pay a fine. UGH.
“Thank you very much for having been such a nice friend of ours for a decade
before showing your true colors when we moved out, for God sake!!!”)
2018 came. As a driver who’s chronically bad with
directions, especially in a crowded city full of nauseous traffic jam all the
time, I had tended to seclude myself from the outside world in this new town by
staying cooped up in my own room. Felt trapped, miserable, and so out of touch
with people as a total stranger in this new place to live. Perimenopausal
symptoms was another unwelcome experience that had made me sunk in thoughts and
loneliness. Cervical polypectomy was conducted in early March. Simple surgery,
but it seemed to render “runner Jean” into a “dormant mid-aged woman with weak
muscles” like going into long, deep hibernation. To top it all off, hip
bursitis had stopped me from running for a whole month in June. Besides, my son
got injured by a small accident (when something awfully heavy fell on his shin),
which made him bed-ridden throughout his Spring break. The final straw on camel’s
back took place when Hans was rear-ended by a reckless driver in a busy street,
and to make matters worse, Hans lost his driver’s license while exchanging ID
and vehicle registration information with that villain.
This past year of the golden dog sounds like a very lousy
year to me and my family, isn’t it? Well….I can’t agree more. However, I’d say “Could’ve
been worse.” Let me rewind those gloomy incidents now. Although I miss my good
old friends in Illinois living far away from them, they are always checking with
me and asking if I am doing alright, which is not an easy thing to expect from
anyone out of your sight. Thanks to our friendship, I had been feeling closely
connected even far away from Illinois. As for the surgery, it turned out
perfectly well enough for me to feel as if I became a fresh, young person again.
In hindsight, the hip bursitis that deterred me from heading out to run for a
month had taught me how to listen to my bodily pain more seriously than before.
Due to the pain, I faithfully started to include yoga and pilates in my daily
workout sessions, which had gradually but effectively mitigated the pain in my
left hip. I became a better runner who knows how to truly savor running without
thinking about PR. Lastly, through Hans’s bitter experience of being rear-ended
and losing his ID, the first thing he realized was that the world out there is way
harsher than expected for an easy mark like him. Secondly, on a worst case scenario,
if the bad guy could have gone overboard in his misdeed.
Yes, this past year wasn’t bad at all. We survived all
the waves of big or small hardships quite successfully. As another brand new
year is fast approaching, I do not want rambunctious or super exciting
celebration. There’ll be no parties where I’d plant a big wet smackeroos. My
one and only wish for the upcoming new year is that I’ll be able to see myself,
my beloved family, and friends to stay peaceful and healthy throughout 365 days
ahead and more.
Adieu, 2018! Come on over, 2019! Come what may, let us
keep our hopes up and smile.
