Monday, December 31, 2012

dragging beauty out of chaos, kicking and screaming edition


what a beautiful mess this isit’s like taking a guess when the only answer is yes
~ jason mraz

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this is gonna be quick, because 2012 went by in the blink of an eye, and it's almost over.

before it is, i have to get some work done, go for one more run, sigh deeply and profoundly, and put up one more blog post.

later, i have to drink some good wine.

i can do this.

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2012 was a good year

in the plus column, my family is healthy. we have a roof over our heads and too much to eat. shoot, our dogs have too much to eat. any problems we think we have are, as the boy child says, "first-world problems." here's hoping it stays that way.

i ran a lot in 2012. the missus started running, too. the girl did gymnastics nearly nonstop, and is a powerhouse. the boy? the boy sits in front of a computer nearly nonstop. okay, he gets up every so often to go to the climbing gym or parkour. just to make sure his limbs still work, i guess. having watched him in these venues, it occurs to me that he's like the sundance kid ~ he's better when he moves.

good things happened in washington state this year. marriage equality happened. legal marijuana happened. not because i want to get my stone on (which i don't), but because any step toward ending the "war on drugs" is a good step.

the mayan apocalypse didn't happen. not the way some silly geese thought it would, anyway.

barack obama happened. again. and since most americans insisted on not being apocalypzed, it's probably good that the supreme court upheld the affordable care act.

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2012 was a bad year


our very old cat died. he lived a long life and was much loved. but we miss him.

my friend rob's wife died of cancer. she left him far too soon, and is still much loved.

our national worship of guns led to trayvon martin. aurora, colorado. newtown, connecticut. and tens of thousands of other gun-related deaths. unfun fact: guns are designed to kill. and countless americans unqualified to cook safely on a gas stove are madly wielding firearms. some right near you, right this second.

hurricane sandy. drone warfare. warrantless surveillance. syria.

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2013 will be a year of some sort

really. it will. and some of what happens will be bad. heartbreaking. appalling. it'll make you wonder what the hell happened, and how you can go on, knowing what you know. some days it will difficult just to remember to breathe. but we will, because that's what we do. most of the time.

some of what is about to happen, however, will be good. very good, even. jaw dropping, life changing. the "what did we do before this happened" kind of good. important note: the bad stuff will be easier to remember. it'll stay with you longer, and hurt more than the good heals. i don't know why this is true, but it is. maybe it's part of the survival instinct, which tells you to never, ever forget the day the predator almost had you for dinner.

me, i'm going to run more, so i can evade the predators and outlast the worst of the bad. this, in itself, will be good. i just won't realize it while it's happening.

then again, maybe i will.

sometimes.

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it's almost here. buckle up.

and good luck, everyone.

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