Looking Ahead, Looking Back

December often marks the time of year when we reflect on how we've spent the last year and how we'd like to spend the coming year. For me, it all comes down to what makes me happy at the end of the day (or year...you know what I mean).

So as I ruminate over 2015's challenges and accomplishments, as well as my goals for 2016, here's my top-10 bring-a-smile-to-my-face, love-life list: 

10. Books.

This is just one segment of my bookshelf: it's haphazard and jammed full of old favorites, classic greats, and those that seem perpetually relegated to the To-Read list. I love my books any time, but there's something so delicious about curling up and diving into an imaginary world when the temperatures drop and the new year swoops in.

9. Movies, TV Shows, and Miracle of Netflix

This is a bit of a cheat because...see #10. And yes, I still believe a story is a story is a story, but there remains a different experience between reading or watching a story unfold. Different...but both spectacular.

8. One type of story I have yet to delve into here (until now) is of a more visual medium.....

I love my tattoos. Each one has its own story and purpose, and no matter how large or small, or how dark the subject matter, each is beautiful. For anyone else who's ever gotten a tattoo, though, you know the problem: it becomes a lovely and meaningful (and okay, fine, expensive!) addiction. Here's to 2016 being the year I next add to my canvas.

7. Lab Experiment

I never remember a time when I didn't have a Lab. I've always loved all dogs (except maybe poodles, but let's be real, they don't really count), but I've never cared to have anything other than a Lab as a pet. I have spent so much time running with, cuddling with, hugging and kissing, crying into the fur of, or playing fetch with a Lab. My sweet yellow Cash is the embodiment of why I've always said these dogs exist: they show how to give unconditional love...and who can't benefit from that?

6. Work

Weird, right? I'm human (painfully so), so I won't pretend that my job brings me glowing bliss every (or any) day. But I have a job where I get to work with brilliant, creative, compassionate, and yes, challenging young adults and attempt to see the changing world through their eyes in the context of books, films, and world events. It is extraordinarily gratifying, both intellectually and emotionally. The cherry on top? I have the BEST colleagues in the world, many of whom I've grown to love dearly and number as best friends. Not a bad way to earn a paycheck.

5. You Can Choose Your Friends 

I've never been great at making or keeping friends, especially girlfriends. So when I found an apparent kindred spirit while I was in college, I worried our friendship would be fleeting. I was wonderfully wrong. See this girl (and yes, our goofy husbands!)?

Katie is gorgeous (obviously), brilliant, hardworking, and one of the greatest friends I could ever imagine. Time and distance have no bearing on our friendship, a friendship that has become a permanent part of my story.

4. ...But Not Your Relatives

And I'm just fine with that. If given the chance to pick my family members, I'd choose the same ones I was given. Sometimes, things just work out.

3. Rum

Yep, seriously. Because as wonderful as things usually are, I still have to deal with work and family and pretending to be an adult who knows what the hell is going on around me. Every once in a while, there's nothing like an evening with a Captain to ease the sting of a rough day.

2. A Glorification of Me

I've spent a lot of time (including every moment of adolescence) questioning who I am and being unhappy with the answers I've found. I've finally reached a point where I actually quite like myself. Whether it's age, experience, perspective, a finely-tuned dark sense of humor (see #3), or any other number of factors, it's pretty cool to be happy in my own company with my own thoughts. 

1. No Surprise Here

I'm happy with myself and by myself...but some of my greatest joy in life is knowing I have others who support and love me. I chose Brian and Grace, willfully working together to make us a family, and they chose me back.

Of all the choices I've made, loving and being with them is far and away the best, and I'm so excited to see what roads we'll travel, and what stories we'll write, in our future together.