2023- The Year I Never Saw Coming

2023- The Year I Never Saw Coming

2023 started with our cruise being rerouted due to weather.  Yes, we missed out on Bermuda- but our delay in Orlando meant we were at Kennedy Space Center for the first Falcon 9 launch of 2023.

Days after we returned home, we received the biggest shock of the entire year- a call from the Fairfax County Victim Services Unit informing us that Andy’s first stepfather, Alan, with whom we had a good but not particularly close relationship, was murdered by his other stepson, who was actually trying to kill Alan’s current wife.

And it’s been a wild ride ever since. Because I was still processing things, I wasn’t sure about what or how to say for some of the items on the list, which is why it’s coming out mid-January instead of the last day of December.  But I think I’ve finally gotten it where I want it, because although I am happy to share these lists with you, I write them for me- so that I can look back on a bad day and remind myself what a badass I am. So, as has become my custom, here is my list of accomplishments and adventures for 2023.

1. I performed in my first show in four years, back at Colonial Players of Annapolis, a theatre where I had last performed 21 years earlier.
2. I designed and maintained the wigs for the same show.
3. I was appointed to the Board of Directors for Colonial Players and did well enough that I have been asked to run again for the position during this spring’s elections.
4. I served on the Dragon Board for Frederick Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans.
5. I completed a 13 month course in Empowered Witchcraft with Blackfeather Mystery School.
6. I attended three pagan retreats- Sacred Space Conference, Free Spirit Gathering, and Twilight Covening.
7. I went to Free Spirit Gathering alone, knowing no almost one, based solely on the recommendations that it was a good group of people and a great pagan festival.
8. At Free Spirit Gathering, I volunteered with the Medical team as someone who could render First Aid and provide emergency mental health care. I even discovered a crucial piece of information that was missing when someone’s symptoms weren’t adding up, allowing us to get them the correct care.
9. I decided at the last minute to cancel a trip for a fourth retreat because I realized getting ready for it was seriously stressing me out, and the presenters I was most excited about are part of my faith community, meaning I had access to them any time. Because of the way the weekend unfolded for me, saying “no” was probably one of the best decisions I made all year.
10. I completed Level I Gottman training for working with couples.
11. On the way back from a trip to see Hadestown on Broadway, I traveled by car through the Lincoln Tunnel, which I hadn’t done since 2014 when doing so triggered one of the worst panic attacks of my life.  I wasn’t driving, and I had to take an Ativan, but I did it!
12. I volunteered at Frederick Gay Pride.
13. I served on the Board for Frederick Pagan Pride Day and volunteered at the First Aid table.
14. I faced my fears (of food that’s looking at me) and took a class to learn how to filet a fish and make delicious things with it.
15. I attended two acting workshops and a marketing class.
16. I served in support of a Celebration of Life for a beloved member of my faith community.
17. I learned several new ways to play with fire.
18. I learned how to roll sushi.
19. I taught two classes at Frederick CUUPS.
20. I served as a Sighted Guide for the Visioning Ritual at Twilight Covening.
21. I led the Frederick CUUPS Samhain ritual.
22. I auditioned for three shows and was called back for all three.
23. I added a new tattoo to my collection that honors where I came from and where I’m going.
24. I went to therapy.  A lot of it.
25. I stepped way outside my comfort zone and stumbled upon something I didn’t even realize was missing from my life.

I head into 2024 feeling mostly optimistic. It’s an election year, so that’s a bit worrying, but I am surrounded by a wonderful community that is supportive and encouraging. As I said on an another post, my word for 2024 is Stretch. The photo below was my message from Spirit at the New Years Day Purification Ritual, so I know I’m on the right path.