Last day of 2023.
I don't get sick often but something wicked laid me low this week. I've been wearing a mask and secluding in the game room so I don't get Calene sick, too. I chose the game room so I could watch football on the big screen but pretty much all I've been doing is sleeping. I've worn the same sweatshirt and sweatpants for the last three days and I have no plans to wear anything else until this is over.
Which is all a very strange way to say my heart is filled with gratitude. I've left the game room for my office so I can write this. My desk is a sea of clutter with islands of thoughtful Christmas gifts bobbing on the surface: my new "Roy Kent's Cheerful Dispositions" candle given to me by my oldest, a handwritten card from two of my runners saying "Dugard, You Are The Man," a small statue of a black lab that looks just like Sadie.
I don't like when I grumble because I have an amazing life. And by that I mean that I pretty much get to do what I want to do, love who I want to love, and spend hours alone with my thoughts. I laugh even as I type the last one, thinking about the Ted Lasso episode where he defines a "wanker" as a man who enjoys the very same thing.
2023 presented many challenges that made me feel like I was wandering in a desert. Honestly, I can't remember a single one right now. I look back on moments with good friends, time on the trails, travel, family, and above all, the woman in the next room who is, and always will be, my sunshine.
No resolutions for next year. I just want more of the same.
I wish you all the best, Thanks for reading.
Party on.