Goodbye 2016 and Good Riddance...

Tonight it's New Year's Eve and I'm spending another holiday without my family.  I never thought in a million years I'd still be hanging on the East Coast alone and it's been a tough pill to swallow.  I only cried twice today and that's pretty darn good if you ask me.  Today is also my daddy's birthday and I'm sad that I don't get to spend the evening with that old grouch.  My friend Alyssa penned a nice post on her blog about how tough 2016 has been.  I was reminded just how awful this year has been for a lot of the people I love in this world and that I am certainly not alone in my misery.  I have friends and family who have gone months and months without a job, a sister with breast cancer, another sister with long standing infertility that has finally given up on another baby, friends having trouble paying their bills...  the list goes on and on.  Life is hard and it sort of pisses me off that it has to be that way. 

To keep my mind off the holiday, I spent the day at the Mystic Aquarium with Renee, her daughters, and her granddaughter.  We got in free with our Lifespan ID badges and then had dinner at Mystic Pizza - yes, the Mystic Pizza from the movie with Julia Roberts...  So, did I have a nice day?  Of course!  Mostly because even when I'm sad, I'm still me, and I like to be ridiculous and have a good time everywhere I go.  Seeing the animals at the aquarium wasn't the best part of my day because I took Renee's daughter Briana on a sled dog ride:

I also took a pic with Santa, who for some reason has not gone back to the North Pole, but is hanging out at the Mystic Aquarium on a big chair instead:

Briana and I also managed to get one of the scuba divers in the fish tank to come over and take a selfie with us - complete with rabbit ears!  I felt like I'd hit the jackpot:

After all this nonsense it didn't take Briana long to figure out that I would do just about anything anyone asked me to - including sticking my head up into this aquarium that only kids were playing in.  I can't help it that most adults are sticks in the mud...

After the day was over and I was driving home, I cried a bit but decided I should follow Alyssa's example and discuss the positives about this last year and maybe even list some of the things I've learned.  First, I've traveled to about a million places since I landed in New England.  I've gone to Cape Cod, the Statue of Liberty, most of the national parks and monuments in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  I've explored Boston and walked in the shoes of the patriots who founded this country.  I traveled to DC and enjoyed the monuments celebrating our great nation.  I've spent time pondering the ultimate sacrifice that many of my countrymen have paid to bless me with freedom as I walked on sacred ground in Arlington, Virginia.  I've explored nearly all the beaches in Rhode Island (there are 100) and have walked hundreds of miles on nature trails in several states around me.  I've learned all about Rhode Island history and have learned some stuff even the locals don't know.  I've tried hot weenies, coffee milk, frozen lemonade, and ate lobster every payday for the entire summer so that by the time lobster prices started to rise, I was kind of glad to have a break.  This short list doesn't even cover everything I've done in the last nine months because since I left home, I have driven through and/or explored 20 states!  I could go on and on but the significant thing about everything I've seen is that I did it all alone, and that's a huge thing for someone who gets lost everywhere - even in their tiny home town.  I learned that with a GPS, a few bucks in my pocket, and a destination to explore, I could navigate to any town or landmark I wanted to see, and not a single person cared that I was there alone.  Only my own embarrassment or self consciousness can hold me back from anything I want to accomplish in this life.

Second, I learned that I really do love my sexy lover and my rotten kids as much as I thought I did.  Jared and my girls have been my rock this year and have done their very best with a horrible situation.  None of them have made me feel badly about the sacrifice that we are making so that we can have a different life in the East.  There will always be some friction in a family, but I'm proud of the girls for helping each other and their daddy until I can be with them again.  I'm so grateful I hitched my star to the man I did.  Jared loves me unconditionally and completely and has encouraged me to be my best from the moment he walked into my life.

Third, I'm grateful for all the family and friends that I have had the privilege to know in my life.  Their strength and trust in God despite their individual trials has sustained me - even when I have questioned my own strength, faith, or ability to continue on my chosen road.  Some of those friends also deserve a shout out for constantly checking in on me to make sure I knew that I was wanted, needed, and hadn't lost my mind by leaving my family behind. 

Last, I'm grateful to be me.  I'm brave, strong, and pretty darn amazing for everything I've accomplished over the course of my life.  If my daughters can learn that there is nothing they can't do - even stuff that is scary as hell and just as hard - all because they watched their momma live her own life that way... then I will have created my crowning opus.  Yep, I've done a lot of great stuff.  However, 2016 has still sucked some major nuts and I am looking forward to a change of fortune in the coming year.  Goodbye 2016...  Don't let the door hit you on the butt on your way out...