Fuck. What the hell happened? How is it 2020 already? I am not prepared to start a new year. I am not prepared to make new goals for the next 12 months. Yet here it is. Like a goddamned locomotive speeding out of control around an unbanked curve.
So I better get my shit together and sort myself out. Now. Today.
Let me recap with last year’s list of goals. No wait. Let me start with something I’ve never shared before.
Ten years ago – Oct 1, 2010 to be exact – I walked out of my marriage and never looked back. I took 5 cats (don’t judge), 2 dogs, my clothes, books and 1 fucking paycheck. Full stop. Best decision I ever made. Oh, and later in divorce court, I won the $38k consumer debt The Ex accumulated. How? Because I have a fucking job. Someday I’ll (maybe) tell the whole story, but for now, there’s a really great piece here from Bitches Get Riches.
Fast forward, and I can’t even recognize that person from ten years ago. But sometimes I see a flash of her in someone else in my everyday life and I just want to do a fucking Vulcan mind meld somehow and show her how different it can be when you take your power back.
Anyway, let’s get back to the 2019 recap. Last year’s goals, which are literally taped to the inside of my bathroom mirror:
- FINANCIAL
- Investment income/dividends equal to one week take-home. DONE. Better than zero from 2 years ago.
- Max out IRA contribution. DONE. Culmination of a 5-year goal, from zero to max.
- Make 1 sale of art online. FAIL. This is OK because I abandoned the effort partway thru the year, new project happened.
- Secure Amazon affiliate status. FAIL. Also OK, same reason.
- PERSONAL: Be Thoughtful
- Dad DONE, ONGOING Dad went through a lot of life changes last year, it has been incredibly stressful on the family and we’re doing our best. We have a number of systems & plans set in place now, but we have a lot more work to do.
- Mom NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, ONGOING Mom had some issues this year too, and I responded as best I could. However, I feel like my Dad’s situation took precedence because he was alone, while my Mom is married and has a much larger support network.
- PhotoGuy DONE, ONGOING We talk a lot, openly, about so many topics. I think the fact that we’ve both been married before, and have both seen how a relationship can wither and die when communication falters. Also, small acts of service go such a long way: I make sure his coffee is ready to go when he gets into the kitchen, he makes my lunch. Every day. Also, sometimes I buy him new pants and throw out his old pants, and he has no idea.
- Me DONE I wanted to do something to actively practice self-care so I started a yoga class, and I love how it makes me feel afterwards. FAIL Maybe I have too many wine days, I’d like to do better in that area.
- Chip ONGOING My little problem-pup requires a ton of medications & special food for numerous health conditions. Now he is also losing his fur, so he needs to wear clothes to stay warm in the winter. Obviously he hates all of it, and I love taking care of him. It is a very dysfunctional relationship.
- Shadow DONE See below
- WORK
- Be on time. FAIL. Let’s just call this a work in progress. Those 5 fucking minutes kill me every day.
Here’s some shit I did not see coming this year. I mean, I knew these things were somewhere on the horizon, but I didn’t really know the timelines, for various reasons.
- UNPLANNED ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Started a business YES I DID It’s stuff for dogs, and I built the whole website by myself. PhotoGuy helps me sometimes with the pro photos, but I’m doing everything else for now. Marketing, production, distribution, etc. My next step for expansion will be to start hiring someone to do the prep work for the production process.
- Sunroom IN PROGRESS We’ve been wanting to enclose the old screened-in porch for a long time now. Last summer seemed like the right time to start, so we did. PhotoGuy has been managing most of the project, and we’ve done well with purchasing materials, but its still expensive.
- Shadow DONE My faithful velcro dog passed in early September. When I look back over his life, my heart fills with joy for his accomplishments. One day I’ll tell his story, but for now, it is enough to know that his first few years were not good. He has scars, and was not socialized with people or dogs, so the odds were never in his favor. In his 11 years with me, I watched him improve ever-so-slowly into a confident, relaxed, happy old man who loved his little group of humans and his obnoxious little dog brother. He was comfortable and curious right through his final day. And when his time came to say goodbye, it was very quick and he was not in pain. Who could ask a better departure?
So that’s what I’ve been doing. Now go check out my new thing at Salty Old Dogs! There’s even a place to see dogs wearing their stuff, called The Pack. Enjoy!
