This morning Alex had a dentist appointment, and before we got there I decided that I was going to use my time in the waiting room to crush some candies. For the last couple of days my TV viewing has taken priority over playing Candy Crush, but by diggity this morning I was dead set on playing catch-up.
I’ve been stuck in the Easter Bunny Hills for a sweet forever, people. It’s time to at least try to move on.
After we sat down, I grabbed my phone and started to look for my reading glasses. The reading glasses have become critically important ever since I went to the eye doctor about a month ago. I now need a stronger contact lens in my left eye so that I can see far away, and apparently that increase makes it more difficult for me to see up close. The cruel irony is that I can see up close JUST FINE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH when I’m not wearing my contacts – but if I don’t wear my contacts, I can’t really see the lines on the road or, you know, read signs. So I wear the contacts because, well, SAFETY, and I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time before I’ll be wearing my reading glasses on one of those chains around my neck just like all my mama’s friends did when I was growing up.
Listen. Getting older will BREAK DOWN some vanity. It will BREAK IT ON DOWN.
Unfortunately, however, I left my reading glasses at home, and I couldn’t very well crush all those candies if I could not in fact see them. I also couldn’t check Twitter unless I was willing to sit on the waiting room sofa while holding my phone two feet away from my face. So after a few minutes, I resigned myself to doing absolutely nothing for the next 45 minutes, and then I thought. And I thought. And I thought.
I thought about all the many things.
I thought a whole lot about 2013.
And I came to the conclusion that 2013 was pretty much something else. I even made a mental list of some of my favorite moments. It went a little something like this.
– Mississippi State played for a National Championship in baseball, and I even got to watch part of the College World Series with Emma Kate at her house. There was a delightful abundance of yelling that night.
– Melanie and I both released books, and thank goodness she went first because it equipped her with the ability to listen to all my worrying and then say SIMMER DOWN, GLADYS with some authority. Our weekend at Living Proof Live in Atlanta this past June was a memorial stone moment for sure.
– David and I went on a five-day trip all by ourselves and had the best time. Like Mel, he should get some sort of award for patiently dealing with all my writing-related insecurity (not to mention my tendency to overcommit, which is a WHOLE ‘NOTHER STORY).
– Sister and I continued our Egg Bowl winning streak in Starkville and rang our cowbells for a solid 30 minutes after the game was over. I’m so glad we were there.
– I got to spend more time than I normally do with my best friends from college, and every single time we laughed so hard that my bladder totally betrayed me. There’s not a more supportive, loving group of people on the planet.
– I was reminded over and over again why the state of Mississippi is my favorite place on earth.
– One night this summer when I was at Mama and Daddy’s, I couldn’t sleep and got up to get some water from the kitchen. When I was on the way back to the bedroom, I saw Mama sitting up in her bed and reading my book. I said, “Why in the world are you reading that?” – and she said, “Oh, I just keep reading it over and over again.” I may have cried. My family has been incredibly gracious about the book stuff. And, you know, the fact that I wrote about them.
– My friend Heather and I went to see NEEDTOBREATHE at a place here in Birmingham that only seats about 300 people. It was one of the happiest musical moments of my life. Such a highlight.
– I have some sweet young friends who are in high school, college, and grad school, and by this point David knows that when I talk about them, I’m gonna get teary-eyed. Those relationships bring me so much joy.
– Not too long ago I asked Alex if he ever feels pressure to be perfect (he tends to err on the side of driven), and he said, “No ma’am” – almost like I had just asked him if he wanted to dye his hair purple. I said, “Really? Why is that, do you think?” – and he said, “Because I’m made in God’s image. And if He made me, that’s enough. I’m enough.” So that was a word.
There are more sweet memories for sure – and oh have mercy there’s also been some icky, difficult stuff that I haven’t necessarily blogged about because BOUNDARIES. The bottom line, I reckon, is that it hasn’t been an easy year by any stretch of the imagination, but I can honestly say that it’s been such a good one. And what I kept thinking about as I sat in the dentist’s office this morning is that people really do make all the difference (well, people and Jesus, but you know what I mean). I didn’t have a single memorable moment this past year that wasn’t directly connected to another person. And I’m mighty grateful that our friends and our families are God’s very best instruments for mercy and grace and laughter in our lives. 2013 has been such a reminder of that.
Happy 2014, everybody!
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