The Highs, Lows, and Buffaloes of 2019

Well, here we are at the end of another year. It is that time when we think about all the things that we did or did not accomplish and look to next year to make our dreams come true.

This post is not going to be exactly helpful to anyone it is merely putting out what my 2019 entailed. Obviously, I do not expect that we will have the same things on our lists or that somehow my list will influence your upcoming year.

The hope is that by looking back at 2019 and all the good things, bad things, and otherwise that happened to us might encourage or inspire our future year. It is dreamy to think that we will get another chance at life, another opportunity to do great things.

I realize, it’s not like a redo, we do not get to start over or somehow go back to the beginning and try again. We keep moving forward day by day, year by year. It’s like that train I mentioned before, it keeps getting faster and faster. I would like to think that we can reflect on what we learned from this past year to make the new one even better. And that we as humans get better with age. Or at least better at some things. Not better at remembering where we put our keys but maybe other things.

There should be a redo, or at least a rewind. I am not necessarily sure I want to redo anything in the sense that I did it wrong and I want to fix it. We can’t live like that. No regrets, this train moves in one direction. But a rewind would be nice. Just to go back to those sweet moments that make me smile (or cry) and enjoy them for a little longer. Simply, remembering how life was.

Only in our dreams, I guess. On another note, I would like to share with you the things that made my year great, not so great, and some in between stuff that is still important enough to mention.

Highs

There are many highs that come to mind when I think of this past year. One that stands at the forefront of my mind is my son getting accepted into all the colleges he applied to and being able to choose for himself what would be the best fit for him. This was the absolute highest moment for me knowing he worked hard and his hard work paid off.

Now, I can hear what you are saying, about college and kids, and they do not have to go to college to lead successful lives. Yes. I. Know. But he wants to be a doctor or something related to the medical field. I don’t know about you but I do not want to visit a doctor who has never gone to college. I mean, just saying. So for him, getting into college is important and for that I am over the moon for him.

And another small thing that goes along with all this college business is he got a full ride scholarship. Hold on. Did you hear what I said? FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIP. Not only did he get accepted, but he gets to go for FREEEEEEE. BEST. YEAR. EVER. So, again not important if he wanted to be successful in other ways but HE needs college to be successful in HIS life. Full ride means mama doesn’t have to work 15 jobs just to cover tuition. Full ride means I still get to LIVE my life. We both win! Yay us!

Lows

Now these are not as much fun to write about as the highs, but here it goes. One of my main lows this year is how drastically my life has changed. I went from being a mama who was needed full time, to a mama who is needed almost, exclusively, NEVER. I am still trying to figure out this empty nester season that I am going through, and that’s okay it is a work in progress, like most things in my life. Sometimes, I just miss being needed and it of course makes me sad to see how fast life has gone.

I will tell you this once and I will tell you this a gazillion times more. Hold on to the times you have. Do not let the moments pass by so fast, hang on to them. Stop and breathe people. Think about what is happening around you. These experiences that you have will one day be gone. And the only thing left will be the memory of how life once was. It reminds me of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Remember how he comes to show Ebeneezer what he had and could’ve had in his life. And Ebeneezer was regretful of the choices he made. Don’t be Ebeneezer. Make the most of what you have. It shall one day be gone. It’s the truth people. It’s the real truth.

Buffaloes

Easy. The stuff in the middle that makes up my life. I will give a quick rundown so as not to bore you with the details.

I got to experience all of my son’s high school “lasts” with him. Also, his graduation was a pretty powerful experience. My son was able to go on an experience of a lifetime and travel to Spain with this friends and teachers (I know not really my experience but I too was able to go at his age so I know that he had a blast and as a mother I was super pumped I was able to provide him with that experience).

My brother and his wife were married this year and I was the “person” who married them. Yay me! I also witnessed a cousin get married and was able to reconnect with a family member who I missed dearly.

Currently I am trying my hand at a side biz selling hair and skincare products. Not being very successful, YET. But have been able to spend some time with one of my besties through the process so it is all good. Threw a birthday bash for another one of my besties for her 40th birthday. So glad I was able to celebrate her, she deserved it and so much more. Aaannnddd, started this BLOG! Very exciting, at least I think it is!

Goodbye 2019

We can now officially, well not for a few more days, say goodbye to 2019. Another year over and a new one is beginning, shortly! The possibilities are endless for 2020. Just saying the year is exciting. It was like when it was the year 2000 and we all thought the world was going to have a technological meltdown. No meltdowns or disasters for 2020 but all good things to come. We can start new. New lists, new goals, new ideas, and new dreams. Let us make 2020 our best year EVER!!!

Thank you for sticking with me through this unusual post. Hopefully it helped you reflect on what your highs, lows, and buffaloes were and how you can share them with others. Comment below with your hopes for the new year, or even share your highs, lows, and buffaloes with me. Always. Dawn.