This year has been a crazy mix of wonderful and horrible events. The two that affected me the most were life and death.

Obviously, the hardest thing I've had to deal with this year (or in my entire life) was the suicide of my father. It took everything out of me, and I'm slowly trying to get back to a good place mentally/emotionally.

And the greatest event this year was, of course, the birth of my beautiful niece, Naomi. She's the light of my life and I can do nothing but smile when I'm around her sweet, little face.

Crazy what kinds of things can happen to one person in a year's time. And because those two things were so huge to me, I can't remember much of the in between.
Mainly this year, I just worked really hard and toward the end I've managed to make a few new friends, reconnect with some old ones, and say goodbye to some duds.  
I got to see some of my favorite bands play,
(including built to spill TWO nights in a row in two different cities. That was rad as ****)

I got lost driving around in the middle of the night by myself and had a scary time trying to get home.

I wrote over 800 poems about love, hate, life, death, and just about everything between.

So much happened...

I laughed, I cried. I ate, I farted. Now, let's see what kind of craziness 2016 will bring to me.

And as a lesson from my wonderful and wise sister, Tonya, I'm going to list a few things I'm grateful for:

My family (sisters, my brother, the dad I got to have, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces [Naomi and Maryjane] and great friends)

My furry pals (all the pets I have and all the amazing animals I get to care for at my job)

The fact that I have a full time job and therefore, a roof over my head and food in my belly plus the bellies of my animals

My health. The fact that I can walk, run, drive, see, hear, smell, and feel

My life. The gift I was given by my mom and dad. The ability to bring creativity and joy into this world.

My creativity and art. Not everyone is given the ability to draw, paint, sculpt, sing, write, play music, and sew.

My voice. I'm so thankful to live in a time and place of free speech. I have so much to say, and if I lived in a time or country where saying whatever I wanted was unacceptable, I don't know what I'd do.

I'm thankful for many things, and I'm going to make sure I think about new ones every day.

I'm grateful to have all of you in my life, as well.

What are you guys grateful for?

I'm pretty sure I came with missing parts
A few screws lost, here and there
And no matter how hard I try to keep my head on straight, it always leans harshly to one side
Too heavy for me to lift back into place on my own

The stitches designed to hold my skin together are mostly busted
And all the cotton I've been stuffed with is pushing through the seams
One of my button eyes hangs by a single string,
My smile was stitched on crooked
and it looks much more like a frown, to me

The yarn used to make my hair was weak and ugly
My head is much too big for my body
And I'm just not right, at all

I
keep
on
r    u   n    n  i   n    g

from

myself

I opened up my chest and filled my heart with countless seeds
I tried to grow you flowers, but I only sprouted weeds

I tried again and thought
"I'm sure it just takes some practice"
But instead of flowers, this time, I just grew a spiny cactus

I can't grow a flower garden, or a tall tree for the birds
But I can water you a garden full of honest thoughts and words

.

In truth, it's my go-to state.
I'll say it's not so bad when I actually mean that it's great.
Litotes and understatement -
that's my forte.

If I ever make the mistake of letting you get too close,
I'll soon compensate by pushing you far, far away.