2015 was kind of a jerk, year-wise.
Don’t get me wrong. I am well aware that any year you end on the right side of the dirt is probably a pretty good one. If you have loved ones, a roof over your head, food, clothing and faith, you are immeasurably blessed. Still, I think it’s OK to complain, just a little, when you get laid off, via text message, on New Year’s Eve.
The layoff
Yes, that happened, to Mr. Wonderful. I tend to try to find the best in everything and everyone. That choice, however, is a challenge.
On the upside, getting laid off on New Year’s Eve means you will be availed of endless comforting Internet memes celebrating gratitude, joy, hope and faith in a better tomorrow. I’m not being sarcastic. I love those things. I think it’s important to step back and realize if you have love and health you have everything.
He has been fortunate to field some amazing offers and it is always a crap shoot, in the end, picking one over the other. We do our best and try our hardest and weigh options and still you don’t ever know. It’s not like love where you find your employment soul mate. Not for most people anyway.
Dud
That said, I think it’s also OK to say that as years go 2015 was sometimes kind of a dud. For us, we met some new faces that we dearly love and some old fell by the wayside (I’m sorry). We lost some amazing people in some completely unacceptable ways and I truly, deeply hate that. I know everything happens for a reason but sometimes it is difficult to fathom or accept what that is.
Still, we soldier on.
There are meals to make and bills to be paid (always bills) and families and friends to love and raise. There are moments of deep gratitude and, yes, frustration too. I don’t know why bad things happen to good people. I don’t know why a young father is battling cancer. I understand even less why a young mother lost her battle with the same evil demon cancer. I don’t know what to think when someone who brought light, love and laughter to many is just inexplicably gone.
Understanding
My children are older now. They know these things happen. They happen to people we know and love. I wish I was smart and had all the answers.
I don’t.
I don’t even have half the answers, an iota even. I just know that I get angry at bad breaks and bad luck. I don’t know why, as someone asked me, evil people live on when the good seem to die young. I don’t know why hard-working people struggle and (sometimes) slackers soar.
Better times ahead
What I do know is that every day we wake up on the right side of the ground, surrounded by family and friends and people who love us, we are doing better than many. So seize the days — even the long ones. Embrace life. See challenges as opportunity. Know that sometimes even hard work won’t be enough. You are going to have to pray.
I’m not too proud to say that I hope 2016 is our best and most blessed year yet. I pray for comfort, healing and peace to all — with particular care given to those who need it most and who may not pray for it themselves.
If we are blessed, there will be challenges in the coming year, too.
Life has a way of challenging us. I can’t compel anyone else, but I can speak for me and mine. If and when things get a little too tough to stand in the coming year, I plan to kneel.
