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How Was Your 2016?

DeacHawk

DeacHawk

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It's almost the end of the year so how'd it go for everyone? Big life accomplishments? Major changes? Big trips to foreign countries shaped like a boot? Obviously let's focus on the good but feel free to post the bad and the ugly.

At work got promoted in February and the additional responsibilities are something I feel I really excel at. Didn't get named department head last month so somewhat at a crossroads career-wise but overall a solid year professionally. Interesting to see where things lead in 2017.

Enjoyed a full year of living downtown in Winston and walking to work and to bars and restaurants and getting out in the town more. Also have been posting stuff I like about Winston once a week on the Instagram which has been a fun little project. Organized and partied at some epic Winston bar crawls with friends (including some fellow posters)

Ran two 50K's in the spring, and ran 105 miles in 6 days from Aspen to Vail in September, staying in mountain huts along the way and partying and hanging out with the others on the trip (all strangers to start). Thus far the coolest trip/adventure I've ever done.

Ate antelope for the first time and it was amazing.

Overall basically figured out what I enjoy in life and since I'm not tied down, just enjoying doing whatever I want whenever I want. Big plans for 2017 already lined up. Good times, good people.
 
Took a fun cruise with the old lady in the spring. Other than that, 2016 can fuck right the hell off.
 
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Switched jobs in March (grant funding ended at my old job) and despite being a temporary contract worker, I am really loving the new gig. Work life balance is on fleek (did I do that right? probably not). It's super flexible and I am making more $.
E started kindergarten which has been awesome (he also got his first library card today and he is so excited that he swore it would be the first thing he showed his grandparents when they arrive on Sat. heart-meltingly cute)
Matt got a promotion.
I love being a family of 5. It's insane, but so much joy.
I lost all the baby weight.
My dad and his wife split, but that doesn't really impact me except for to feel bad for my sister.
 
Worst thing that happened to me in 2016 was North Carolina's loss of standing as a place with reasonable intellectual people. I did way too much shaking my head and feeling embarrassed this year.

Got a new set of irons this year though.
 
2016 was an interesting year. It started off rough with my grandfather admitted days before Christmas to the hospital and nursing home. He stayed there until he passed away in February.

Of course 2016 had its share of family drama. From restraining orders to health scares to down right crazy, plenty of family drama.

After that it included a much deserved promotion at work (had been doing the job without the title and raise), my husband switching to a more stable employer and he later getting a very nice promotion, and several nice trips.
 
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Hoooooooooooooooooo boy 2016.

Started off supremely negatively. At the beginning of the year I was dealing with rehabbing my thumb after breaking it/surgery, then a rib injury from snowboarding and shoulder injury from a bike crash. March rolled around and those things more or less resolved, but then I had to deal with a debilitating bout of vertigo and associated issues for nearly 6 weeks, most likely as a result of extreme stress and tension in my daily/home life. Home life came crashing down in April, when I ultimately made the decision to break off my engagement and leave a 6.5 year relationship. This necessitated moving out of my home, so I spent about 4 weeks living in my best friend's basement as I found a new living situation. In June I moved in with my new roommates and was somewhat apprehensive about how that would go (two guys in their 30s whom I'd never met), but it has been a very positive experience and I am glad for their company when it's there and fine having the house to myself when it's not.

To keep myself from going absolutely insane through all of that, I poured myself into training for cycling (including lots of stationary trainer sessions while I couldn't safely ride outside from the vertigo) and bike racing, which resulted in a really strong road racing season. I managed to accrue enough points to earn my upgrade to Category 3, and in the process won the Oregon Women's Prestige Series for Cat. 4 and made some new friends in the cycling community. I also went mountain biking a few times and found a new way to appreciate bikes and the outdoors, so I just recently decided to treat myself and bought a mountain bike. I look forward to adventure trips with that next year.

Work-wise, I have no idea what happened at the beginning of the year - a lot of the beginning of the year is fuzzy to me - but I am now in a position where I can speak up and be shaping a bit more of what I am doing on a daily basis and feel really positive about my ability to continue this upward progression through next year.

Started dating Pizza Man in late June/July, and couldn't be happier. I have typed/erased/re-typed so many reasons as to why that's the case, but at the end of the day - it's that simple. I am happy, and I have found someone who compliments that. It's beautiful and some days it's still hard to believe it's real- it's like I'm living the happiness that other people talk about which, until now, I kind of assumed was made up/exaggerated. I am lucky to have a great relationship with his kids, too, and I am excited to see what's in store for all of us.

Over all, it was a year of huge changes and I'm glad to have it in the rear-view mirror, but I cannot deny how much I grew as a person or how much I learned about myself and my ability to do what's best for me. However shitty things were to get to that point, I'm on the other side now and I am grateful. I would be remiss to not mention the amazing network of friends I have out here, whose love and support carried me when I was having a hard time carrying myself. Similarly, I have a new level of appreciation for my family - mom and dad especially - for their support through everything, and even thinking about it now I get choked up with gratitude. After all I've been through and with the people I am surrounded by now, I feel more than ever that I am poised for great things in the future... and I'm genuinely excited about it. There is no underlying doubt, there is no apprehension or nagging feeling that something is amiss- I am happy and looking to next year with optimism and the knowledge I can handle anything that comes my way.
 
Hard to follow that lovely write up from leebs!

I would say on a micro level 2016 was pretty great (with the exception of my granddad passing away...but he was 95 and had a great life so only sort of sad). Completed a year at my new job and am doing well and like my coworkers. The Bug started school and has been doing well. And of course we added Wormy to our family.

Macro level.....ehhhhh
 
2016:
-My newborn had a textbook recovery from surgery (at 3 days old) and I was able to bring her home in 2016 after a 3 week stay in the NICU
-Left a toxic work situation, for a great job
-Moved my family from Charleston to Denver for the aforementioned great job
-Have made a bunch of new friends and had a bunch of new adventures in our new city
-Bought a fun, new to me car / adventure mobile
-Straight A's through the year on my masters; knocked down 6 classes this year, 2 left in 2017
-Have had a bunch of (old) friends come through / visit Denver with a few more scheduled visits already on the books in 2017
-Planted one in the Mrs this year - looking forward to baby 2 coming in May

Personally, this was an incredibly exciting year. Looking forward to more adventure in 2017.
 
Good: Bought our first house and went to Jamaica for our anniversary.

Bad: I am fucking embarrassed to live in North Carolina.
 
Townie, if you got married, I hope you got laid a couple times....a day!
 
Big year at work. Started super stressful and has ended really well. I'm looking forward to starting 2017 with some stability and control over my life.
 
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