I am not certain why 2020 seemed like a personal hit as I know we all felt it in our own ways. In reflection it turns out it was both one of my best and one of my worst years ever. It was, for me, a year of yin and yang. For every action there was a positive reaction.
My husband started the year off losing his dependable job of 35+ years / I ended the year with record breaking earnings.
There was no far away beach and sun travel on the agenda / we bought a travel trailer and enjoyed our own beautiful part of the world we live in.  
I missed our kids and their families dearly / our grown kids proved to be wonderful hard working family units each thriving in their own homes and personal family time (what we hoped we taught them was important and that it is all about family, turned out to be true).  
I put in endless hours of work time / I managed more creative time this past year than ever with dedicated time to write, create, paint and more.
I missed the social side of life / I feel more connected to that which is dear to me.
My health challenge was paramount given the focus on underlying conditions and risks / I have practiced razor sharp focus resulting in one of my healthiest years.
I lost my mother this past fall / I have gained a new tighter closeness with my brothers and sister.
It was a year of lessons in glass half full or glass half empty. For me it was both and how I approached the moment/day/week/month/year was a lesson in patience. When the negative showed up, I strived to sit tight, ride it out and wait for the counter reaction of the positive. I learned it always shows up if you give it time and are watching for it.
Uncertainty has become the new normal, but the reality is it should always have been the norm. This past year of upheaval, change, re-focusing, priority shifting, and the future unknown is in the simplest of terms a big reality check. All we really have is the moment. We can lament the past and plan the future, but nothing is as relevant as today.

Happy New Year!
Michelle

Excuse my lack of blogging for a very long time but life has been extremely intertwined but finally feeling enough distance between my writing life, my realtor life and my personal life.  I can again feel comfortable being opinionated. I enjoy writing with a know-it-all abandon as I am at that point in my life that I don’t care what anyone thinks of my side of any story. I write because it is who I am. I am an observer, a story teller, a word-girl.

I have come to learn that I am somewhat of a guide to many I cross paths with. I don't have all the answers, but I do listen to all the questions. That alone seems to bring a go-to role into my daily life be it work, family, personal and more. I take my small part in the world seriously, I don't have all the answers, in fact I don't know if I have any answers, but it seems people bring me questions and the discussions are always worthy. 

On the flip side of people voicing questions and my sometimes overly-logical unemotional path through a discussion to find an answer, I also find myself with my own life-questions. Writing brings me an understanding into self, how and why I think a certain way and a path to my own personal truth. Take it or leave it, agree or disagree, comment or hit delete. Landing on my words may somehow be a path to your own personal truth as is the writing process a path that leads to mine.