2019. As a kid I never dreamed I would live to see 2000. I don’t know if I couldn’t count or if I was just planning on a short life. However, the number seemed overwhelming. Now we face one more year then we hit 2020.
What did I discover in the past year? Well, obviously I discovered my new husband. For all intent and purpose, I think this must be the top perk of the year. Next, we spent every Wednesday having lunch with the twins and the first grade. We learned that all kids need hugs and someone to care. We had our ups and downs and learned more from the downs than we did from the ups.
For all of us, it has been a year of fear. I found that many people want to be led rather than find their own answers. It reminds me of how wives always followed what their husbands and community expected rather than think and act for themselves. Through this same vein, it was time for the degradation and abuse of women to have a voice. I grew up in times when jokes about sex and women were considered funny though degrading. Boys were raised by men who thought being a man was the highest honor. Stand up and be a man. Well, we women said, “Stand up and be a woman.” Perhaps our daughters and granddaughters will be allowed to change the world for the better and encourage sons to know what it is listen and to have empathy and compassion.
To my dismay, I feel like we have regressed back to the `60s and even earlier. Racism, prejudice, hate, intolerance seem to be on the rise. I cannot criticize anyone for their color or their sexual choices. I cannot judge anyone for their religious beliefs. I will protect the environment but to my best to fight climate change. I learned that I can make a difference. I can listen and learn. I can be a leader and not a follower. That was 2018.
Many times I have thought to stop writing. Yes, I am an opinionated woman. There is a voice in me that just will not be silenced. When I write something a bit controversial, it is because a raging voice tells me I have to write about it. I am led by that voice that allows the words to fall on the page. It is not my voice. I have learned to listen and not to be afraid of my words.
I got a year older and found that I think of the end more than ever before. I believe in this mantra for aging adults as we enter 2019: If you have health issues, talk to your family or see the doctor and tell him. Do not let your health go downhill so your family must do for you. You have a choice in that decision. Don’t let them down. Do not be a burden. Take care of yourself, so you can stay as healthy as possible. Eat well. You won’t live long if you don’t. Your family needs to know the status of your health. Go to the dentist and the doctor for yearly exams. Do not SELF-MEDICATE. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Be active in your well-being, because there are people who want you healthy and around for a very long time. The decision is yours. Aging doesn’t mean that you get to be irritable and cranky. Life is a gift. Don’t waste it. Embrace it. You are capable. This year give your family the greatest gift you can. Take care of yourself.
Yes, a year of change. In 2019, I promise to walk more and eat more veggies. I promise to love more deeply and more people. I promise to take care of the environment. I promise to be more active and not inactive in the things happening in our country and on our earth. I promise to give you, my readers, the best of me. Many blessings be yours in the New Year.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Correction to last weeks column. It is Max instead of Kent Snider. My apologies to the Snider family. Was a long tie ago.
