Bye-Bye 2018

Well time to look back on 2018. Here are the highlights and low lights of my year.

My Word for the Year was Joy.

I tried to scatter joy everywhere I went by being kind. I am a virtual call center representative and it is challenging at times to as Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Scatter Joy” to my customers. Most days I felt as though I did a good job of being kind to them so hopefully they had at least a little more joy in their heart after speaking to me.

Most of the year I made poverty wages which means I was one of the 49% of widows who make less than $25,000.00 per year – and I mean way less than $25k. (stat courtesy of Modern Widows Club)

Then as of the end of October, I received a pay raise that put me in the 51% of widows that make more than $25k per year. Yes! I can finally make progress on getting my life together instead of just treading water.

I scaled way, way back on blogging. However, views are increasing despite my slow down. Hmmm…very interesting.

I was a member of Kelly Balarie’s book launch team for Battle Ready, train your mind to conquer challenges, defeat doubt, and live victoriously. This book is on my desk so I can reference it during lunch and breaks. The encouragement I’ve received from it has been heaven sent.

On June 19th, I quietly celebrated the 25th anniversary of when Joe and I became husband and wife with a Blizzard from Dairy Queen.

This summer I was also a member of Aaron Niequist book launch team for The Eternal Current: How a Practice-Based Faith Can Save Us From Drowning. I’ve started doing the Examen at night which helps me put the day in perspective and puts me in a good frame of mind just before I fall asleep.

My most popular post was 10 Years A Widow: Desperate Ways. (344 views, most from Facebook) Warning: This post is brutally honest. When I started this blog my goal was to provide encouraging uplifting content but I was not going to sugar-coat life or tell everyone to look at life through rose-colored glasses. I believe in sugar coating on M&M’s, and smashing those rose-colored glasses and looking at life as it really is…an adventure with lots of ups and downs that must be dealt with head-on.

Enough about 2018. It’s almost history so lets look forward to 2019. My Word of the Year and Bible Verse of the Year will be published on New Years Day.

Until then have a safe and fun New Years Eve.