2022 was not a great year to look back on. It was a year of unexpected traumatic events from losing a pet in a tragic accident to getting a family member through recovery after a sudden accident turned our world completely upside-down to experiencing a level of stress at work not previously experienced.
In light of this, my therapist suggested I do something that I was already considering doing: pull out a journal and reflect on the GOOD moments from 2022 and those moments of GROWTH. When I expressed to her my near-constant fear I am that I'm going to go through these levels of traumatic events all over again, she pointed out "and you did get through it. You are more capable than you realize."
THE BEST MOMENTS OF 2022
* Music. HILARIOUS videos.
* LEARNING THAT THUMBELINA IS DOING WELL!!!
* Snow tubing with friends in March!!!
* THROW THROW BURRITOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
* Spending time with my little's in June
* Winning the Softball Championship with my Forever Loaves!!!!!
* Surviving a flash flood at the State Fair
* The best experience of LASER TAG I've ever had
* Attending Footloose at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre with my girls
* Beginning legit 10 year reunion planning with high school classmates
WHAT I'VE LEARNED INTERNALLY:
My friends are INCREDIBLE!!! They got me through some of the most difficult parts of 2022--even giving me a letter of condolence signed by the majority of our friend group (this meant THE WORLD to me and is still up on my piano as a memorandum) when I lost the little light of my life, my therapy pet Jack. A dear friend also went to Mass with me the weekend of the loss when I didn't have the strength to go to Church on my own.
Over the summer, when more tragedy struck, multiple friends personally prepared and delivered home cooked meals to my family and provided support in various ways. I had friends who provided immediate physical support on the day of the accident, and I have friends and family who called to checked on me throughout our "upside-down" summer. Shucks, I'm still meaning to send out thank yous!
A crisis or tragedy can happen in the blink of an eye, but there are people and resources out there to get you through everything --> Lean on them! Have that "emergency plan" ready, because people really DO care about you
WHAT I'VE LEARNED EXTERNALLY:
* Um, like everything I learned in my 15 months of DBT therapy--music & hilarious videos do a lot too
* How awesome Farmer's Markets are and how to cook a variety of foods
* How to shop for a (very small) household
* How to be a sort-of-"live in nurse" for a few months
* A little bit about softball but more-than-that simply the joy of playing a sport on a team again
