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2016
I was planning on writing about how homesick I was for an American Christmas with my traditional foods like a whole roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, pernil (roast pork), etc versus a turkey roll and new potatoes.
I was also going to write a review for Disney’s latest movie, Moana and how I had to keep the movie a secret in case the boys wouldn’t want to see it because it was another Disney Princess movie and they’re too “grown” to like those type of movies anymore but they actually LOVED it in the end, especially Dwayne Johnson’s “Maui”.
I had considered writing about the loss of George Michael, a musician I grew up loving and how just last week, I had told MJ that if George Michael ever toured Australia, we would have to go see him because he took me to see his longtime love, Garbage and I couldn’t miss out on my longtime love, George Michael.
But as I sit here with the laptop on my lap, I feel like I did when I was trying to write my 2016 Christmas letter. What I had wanted to write on our family’s Christmas letter was “2016 was a shit year for us” because it really was – not only for me, but for many, many other people.
We lost a lot of celebrities, including some of my all-time favourites like Alan Rickman, Anton Yelchin, George Michael, and now Carrie Fisher.
I don’t like to talk about politics but truth be told, I was devastated when Donald Trump won the presidency. I felt that he stood for everything I was against and all he was and still is a lying, racist, misogynist, bully. And now I had to explain to my children that sometimes, the good guys lose and the bad guys win.
2016 continued to prove that there are too many racists out there that continue to hurt and/or belittle human lives just because of the colour of their skin or if they speak with an accent.
Also, mass shootings and gun violence continue to be issues. People keep losing their lives just because someone feels they have the right to take it away from them.
And the list could go on and on, but on a personal front, my family had to face some difficult issues this year as well.
Someone we trusted completely turned our lives upside down and attempted to hurt us in every possible way.
We had planned on going to Europe to celebrate my birthday which was a lifelong dream of mine but those plans were canceled because of financial difficulties that arose from the person who back-stabbed us.
My sister got married in the US and I couldn’t go to her wedding which we had planned to go to on our way to Europe. We also had planned to finally see my mother’s final resting place and buy her a headstone because my family were too caught up in their ridiculous fighting to buy her one. And because of the shit that had happened to us, we couldn’t go to NJ to say goodbye and get her the headstone she deserved when she died 4 years ago.
I discovered that there were many people who would sooner throw an innocent person under the bus rather than to take ownership of their own mistakes and misdeeds.
And I lost my job due to government funding cuts after working there for 8 years.
So yeah, a couple of weeks ago when it came down to looking back on the year to recollect accomplishments and good memories to share with family and friends, it was a struggle but I did my best to put on a brave face and focused on my amazing children’s accomplishments and the awesomeness of them being themselves.
But then, we lost George Michael and while I didn’t know him personally, his talent was astounding and from what I can gather, he was a charitable man who struggled with his own demons.
And today, we lost Carrie Fisher who I didn’t know either. But the brazen personality she displayed, along with her talent were incredible. And she too struggled with her own demons.
With 3 days left of 2016, I could let my own demons strangle me. I could drown in my tears as I think about all the crap we’ve been through in 2016. I can be selfish and say I will never be able to see George Michael in concert and Carrie Fisher won’t be Princess Leia anymore.
Or instead, I can use 2016 as a learning experience. I may not be able to go to every concert. I may not be able to travel. It may take me a long time to find another job.
But…
Life is short.
Look for the good. Listen to all the beautiful songs. Laugh at all the silliness. Enjoy all the moments that life has to offer. Don’t sweat the
smallstuff. Love. Be good to people. Smile. Play. Dance. Don’t hide. Even if I’m scared, still go for it.
Because we don’t know how many days we get on this Earth. We don’t know what’s lurking behind the corner. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll turn out to be an OK president.
‘Cause I gotta have faith.
Rogue One review (spoilers) from a middle of the road fan Happy 2017!
