Goodbye 2017

My New Year's Eve cocktail: pineapple juice with a
splash of dark rum and champagne.

Last year I wrote a list of 16 things about the year I loved, so I'll write 17 this year. No matter how many bad things happen, there are good things too. I choose to focus on the good while I let some of the bad help shape my character. Because 17 is my favorite number, I'm very glad I got to live through this year. I had looked forward to it for many years. 

This was not my best year, but it was not my worst. I cried a lot for some of the loss I had endured in 2016. I grieved. But I got myself up out of bed every single day and lived. I found strength in my God and grace to put one foot in front of another and slowly get through a year in smoke and ash. But when I look back at 2017, I will not look solely at doom and gloom. I will look at the joy that can be found even in darkness. Thank you, 2017, for more life lessons. Thank you, God, for being with me wherever I go and whatever I do. Here are 17 things I liked about 2017:

1. My daughter found her happy place in college.
2. My son got accepted to Colorado School of Mines and Texas A&M University.
3. Dylan's internship over the summer.
4. Morgan becoming a Zumba instructor.
5. I got to spend the summer with my husband in Fort Worth.
6. The times I got to run on the trails in Forth Worth.
7. My quiet moments spent at the Water Gardens.
8. I began a job at a school I adore.
9. Houston Astros won the World Series!
10. Our family went to a Stars game.
11. Our family went to a Spurs game.
12. Even in floods, I saw my fellow Texans do great things.
13. With number 12, I was super proud of my son and friends for all their work after the storms.
14. I saw our friend Melissa get married in Savannah, Georgia and had a blast while there.
15. My new griddle/waffle maker.
16. Seeing all my siblings on two occasions.
17. Vacation time during the holidays with all four of us together.