You have no idea how many times I have started this blog only to discard it all. Writing an end-of-the-year reflection is not easy, it turns out. A lot has happened this year. It was not the best year of my life, but there were some pearls hidden in the muck of 2015.
I will start with the bad because I want to finish this piece with something positive. I’ve always prided myself of being an optimist, the kind of person who always looks for the silver lining and hangs on to it for dear life. It’s the only way I know of surviving some of the curve balls life throws at you. The year that is now ending has really tested me and I admit that there has been too many times lately when I have trouble finding that little gold nugget and hanging on to it.
As I get older I realize that with every passing year both my family and my husband’s will lose more and more loved ones. It’s the natural circle of life, but knowing this doesn’t make it any easier. This year my husband lost his two parents within the space of six months and I lost two wonderful in-laws. Hard to believe they won’t be here anymore. On my side of the family, I lost one of my aunts. She was always a constant presence in my life growing up. She is sorely missed. I also lost my sweet dachshund, Shorty. He was so much more than a dog. He was family and my best friend, the one who was always there for me, no questions asked. I miss him every day.
The world itself seems to have lost its way with all the senseless acts of violence here and abroad. Sometimes it looks like we have regressed a few hundred years instead of advancing into the future. How do you wrap your head around what happened in Paris? Or San Bernadino? Or Turkey? How do you reconcile the images of Syrian refugees risking their lives to desperately flee the daily horrors of their own regime? Every morning, when I tune in to my favorite classical music radio station the first thing out of the news reporter’s mouth always starts with “this many people were killed today in an attack somewhere in the world.” Bad news have overwhelmed most of us this year and dragged our spirits down.
On a more personal note, and after twelve years of relative bliss, my work environment turned toxic this year. In a matter of a few weeks I went from waking up in the morning excited to face another day at work to having to (sometimes literally) drag myself out of bed to face another day in emotional hell. For a very calm person who always kept her cool under pressure, 2015 turned out to be the year I started having anxiety attacks at the mere mention of work. Opening a work email became the equivalent of opening Pandora’s box and my general health went down the toilet with it. I have spent more time at the doctor’s office this year than ever. There is a silver lining in this one though (even though it is not any consolation); in this hellish process, which started around Spring break and has not stopped yet, I know now who my real friends are and that it is time for me to move on with my life.
Amongst all the bad things there were some hidden gems (like the ones I just listed above). This was the year I managed to finally go visit my mom and sister. It had been three years since I had seen them. With the ever-rising prices of airplane tickets it is not easy living an ocean apart from your family. Seeing them, my nephews, my native country was bliss. While my husband basked in the sun at the beach every morning I was more than happy to just visit and catch up over a cup of espresso and a pastry.
There were some people, besides my family, who were there for me more times than I care to admit. They may not even have realized how much they were giving me by just smiling or being who they are. Thank you Kathie and Darlene, my wonderful Sippy Cup writer friends, my amazing yoga teacher Aliya, Denise, Susan, Sylvia, Doris, and Pam (your smiles, kind words, and jokes have made my life just a little brighter) and the extraordinary ladies of my Meetup group. You guys are AWESOME!
Last, but not least, this was the year I signed a publishing contract. I won’t dwell on it because I’m sure you are all tired of hearing about it by now 🙂 But needless to say I’m on cloud nine. What better way to start a new year than seeing your work come into fruition? The best thing about this though is that I am finally able to pay tribute to my father and the faith he had in me by writing under our family name, Reis.
It’s time now for you to tell me how your year went. Comment away please and have yourself an amazing new year.
Raise your glasses to 2016.
May it be the year the world finds peace and you find true happiness.
Author Natalina Reis 
What a wonderful piece, despite the difficulties of the year. I hope for you, for me, for my family and for the world, a kinder, gentler, productive year in 2016.
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Thank you Anne. You were one of the stars in my 2015 🙂
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I too have had the wake-up call that my older family members will not live forever and will not always be healthy. That was a hard thing for me and has lasted two years. But my mom is better now and, even though she will probably always be slower and use a cane, she is still with me. My Grandma’s loss I feel every day because she was “home” to me, my safe place – no drama, loved me for ME, always steady, loved the Lord and lived like it. But I have peace with her passing because of talks that she and I had and because I see how many of my other family members could not or chose not to spend time with her as often as they could and I have no regrets in that area. My heart is full of cherished memories instead of regrets.
Rick and I reached 25 years of marriage this year and now have a true empty nest. While both of those are true blessings, they are also harder to adjust too than I thought they would be and the challenges are for different reasons than I expected. So, life, as always, is full of good and bad, blessing and trials. And every day we learn something new and every day has it’s own blessings. We just have to be open to receiving that knowledge and blessing. I am so very happy that I have you to keep me in touch with reading and exposing me to more art and that you understand why I read and love beauty in crafted things. And that I can “talk” with you about thought-provoking topics, or very silly topics, and that you are will to participate in either “conversation”. May 2016 be full of many lessons and blessing for all of us! Thanks for being you, my friend!!
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Thank you Tammie. I have great memories of our time in Washington. Those were truly happy days 🙂 Let’s keep each other on our toes when it comes to reading. Reading MORE is part of my vision board for the year. Happy New Year friend.
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