Antes del anonuevo
i officially cannot follow in my father's footsteps when it comes to diligently keeping a journal. When we needed to retract some type of receipt for a household upkeep from years ago, the official document was nowhere to be found. And yet, thanks to my father's habit he eventually found out a record that could tell us when the event actually happened.
this year has been a series of ups and downs. the year started with great trials and tribulations, and throughout the summer months, the stress started to pile, that as soon as i got back from my holiday, i was close to bursting in annoyance. thankfully i felt heard, and more importantly that we found someone to help me out of sheer luck! by the time christmas came, i was back to my old self.
nevertheless, in all roller-coaster of events, i am very proud to have fulfilled one of the important goals in life. i finally saw 40 countries, and actually make that 41.
next step was supposed to be the planning of the long-awaited africa trip. however, so many things happened that simply points out to my discomfort in pursuing the trip in april. i guess the beauty in all of these is that i still have a lot of choices, a lot of places to go to. in this case the next country may be more meaningful in that it has a purpose. when i heard a childhood friend i consider my twin is undergoing a health battle, it didn't take me long to find an answer, maybe even call it an excuse for my doubts about Africa. sure it started with the Zimbabwe coup, and then my needing to spend extra funds for an emergency household repair. but that news, that was definitely the one that pushed the deciding factor.
i am glad everything went well this month. i got an unexpected significant reward at work, sane party with my crowd, reconnections with faraway friends and an old acquaintance who somehow makes my heart skip a little, recognition by a really good friend of being someone special through an heirloom, a simple, humble Christmas celebration with my family, The Greatest Showman movie, and just yesterday an exquisite day watching the Nutcracker ballet in the big city's theatre and catch up dinner with my best friend. i know things will not always be like this, but man, this is joy.
i am looking forward to 2018.