My Bests and Worsts of 2016

The most disappointing thing about growing older is that years fly by. Remember how long the months seemed when we were growing up, waiting for Christmas, waiting until birthdays, waiting until the last day of school, waiting, waiting and waiting? Now it's a blur. Cliche, I know. I used to hear my parents say such things, but life is flying by. The same with this last year. I know there have been some overwhelming tragedies and some good things nationally and internationally. You can get those on the news stations. For me, these are my own bests and worsts of each month. I know a lot of people struggled with 2016 and some are saying that for the most part those who think it was a bad year do so because of their privilege. I acknowledge that I am privileged with a life of blessings and wonderful things that I often didn't have a lot to do with. Looking back over the year, I see an abundant life. Still, with that said. I experienced a lot of sadness too. Sometimes we are just sad, in spite of the good.

January
Best: A Thayne reunion of cousins, aunts and uncles to celebrate the foresight of our parents and the many blessings we have because of them. Already there weren't many of the generation that we honored and before the year was out two more of my uncles were laid to rest. It was great to see some who I hadn't seen for many years and this time for a party instead of a funeral.

Worst: None

February

Bests: Disneyland with all of the grandkids, our son and his wife, and our daughter flew in from NYC. We could have been anywhere and it would have been fabulous, but since we hadn't been there as a family since our children were the age of the grandkids, it couldn't have gone better.

Worst: When we landed in LAX, we waited for a long time at the wrong place to be picked up by a shuttle. It was dark and coldish. The kids were running around, impatient and hungry. We all were. Then we finally figured that out, got picked up and taken to the rental place. They had no place to stand and wait, except outside--in the dark! Finally after another hour or more, we got in the rental van and made it to the hotel. What an ordeal.

March: Worst! On March 7th, I saw my friend Mary for the last time. For some years, she has been in a book club that I started in 2000. She hosted many times. She offered such grace and intelligence and in later years, her tender heart and fragility emerged. Although she had failing health, she was a bright and sensitive soul. The night after book club, we were shocked to find out she had been the victim of a murder/suicide. Her husband had been suffering from a mental illness.

Best: Mick and I took a little trip down to Capitol Reef, Goblin Valley and Little Wild Horse Canyon

April
Best: Mick and I celebrated our wedding anniversary of 37 years by traveling down to Arches, Mesa Verde, and Hovenweep. I credit my dear friend Judi Berry for instilling in me the desire to see the Native American artifacts and ruins. Another best was celebrating Mick's and our son's birthdays by seeing the Tulip Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. I'm very lucky to have these two great guys in my life.

 

Worst: My Uncle Lew passed away. He hadn't been well for a long time so in that way it was a blessing to have him go. I loved seeing cousins and my family at the funeral. His wife, (my dad's sister) had been gone for several years.

May
Best: Visit from this family. Approximately 25 years ago the beautiful woman in the middle came to live with our family for her senior year and quickly became part of the family. Here she is with her lovely family. She has been through major trials and is a great example of resilience. Her daughter was killed in an accident leaving behind the littlest guy who was just a toddler at the time.

June Bests: I really love June. The art festival sand Cache Valley Gardener's Market is in full swing. The snow is melted at the cabin in Montana. We hike and hike. We have a lot of fun. Our first trip of the summer was partly with friends and party with family.

 As a person who has struggled with anxiety and depression the last few years, I like to surround myself with happy people. These are some neighbors who spent time with us. See how fun!

I love to start traditions with my grandkids. This little waterfall is just a short hike from the cabin. I've been going there since I was the age of my granddaughter.

June Worsts: I missed walking in Salt Lake Pride. The first time in three years. It's a highlight of the summer. There were a rash of suicides in Utah. Many involving LGBT youth. His mother was a Mama Dragon (fierce protector of her LGBT son). I sat amongst my Mama Dragon friends at the funeral. Sad times. 

July Bests: Trip to New York with Daughter and DIL. We had such a great time going to shows and exploring the city. Another good thing was taking darling granddaughter to the old family cabin my grandpa built in 1960. Just the three of us. Also Mick and I had the great time at a James Taylor concert.  And I got to attend a day of Sunstone conference with dear friends. So fun. 

July WORST This is actually the most heartbreaking of the year. One of my dearest friends passed away unexpectedly on the last day of my trip to NYC. We got the news on the 8th that she had taken a turn for the worst. She passed away the next morning. I tried to make it home in time, but missed saying good bye. This still hurts. Friends told me that she had asked for me. That I missed being there will forever bring me heartache. I miss her so much. Judi was my confidant. And I hers.

August

Bests: Another trip to the cabin. The first part we hosted two couples who all like to hike. The best kind of friends, right? We did a fabulous hike viewing about14 lakes all in all, played games, and ate like royalty.  Lee, our friend for the last decade or so, is like a stand-up comedian keeping us in non-stop laughs. The last half of the trip, we picked up our daughter in Bozeman who flew in from NYC. We've raised our kids right and she loves to hike even more than we do and is in a lot better shape than we are. Then my nephew and his fiance (now wife) came and we had a lot of fun with them also. 

Another fun thing about August is Paradise Trout and Berry Days. I love selling my pottery there, talking to old friends, and eating the best trout dinner of the year. It's also a highlight of the summer. 

Worst: On our trip to the cabin, we got separated from our daughter on a hike (a big no-no) And it took us hours to find each other. By that time, we had called Search and Rescue. Whether your child is 3 or 30 something, there's nothing quite like the sinking feeling when you don't know where they are, especially in  very rugged grizzly bear country. 

September

My Mom with Uncle Mel (my dad's brother)
Worsts: My dad's only remaining sibling passed away. The end of an era. He was the glue of the entire family. I don't know how he kept track of everyone. For decades he made sure we got together for Christmas gatherings and summer parties. He sent letters and cards. He met anyone for lunch, made phone calls, and always remembered to ask about the kids. He wrote histories and made sure we knew all the good things about our father who has been gone for 37 years.  Up until two weeks before Uncle Mel died, he was still swimming laps daily. He was 92.

Another worst is Paradise lost an adorable little girl in an accident. I know her parents, grandparents, and have been good friends with her aunt for 20 years or so. It's so hard to see people you care about suffer so much with such great loss. 

Near the old family cabin. 

Here's a group of fabulous women that I'm lucky enough to call cousins. Somehow we all ended up as like-minded good friends. Since I wasn't blessed with sisters, I'm so glad to have cousins on both sides who I would claim in a heartbeat. 

The year I turned 38 (over 20 years ago) I was in my 1st mid-life crisis. I took a friend and we went for a birthday hike. I've been doing it ever since. Here's a group of friends with my on the trail to White Pine lake. Lucky me. Consider yourself invited next year. 

 

This last picture was taken in Colorado. We had a great trip with a couple of the friends in the above photo. We hiked a lot, sat in a hot tub and played a lot of pool. It was a great trip. 

October: 

Bests: Logan Utah had it's first Pride Festival. I've met so many fabulous people from the LGBT  community and allies. Some people don't really get why I'm involved since I don't have a gay child, but it's for selfish reasons. I enjoy being associated with fabulous people who come together to support one another.

My friend Peter invited me to Equality Utah dinner where I got to hear Gloria Steinem speak among many others. It was a fabulous night. 

Worsts: My husband's Uncle Jim, the man with a mischievous twinkle in his eye and a skip in his step finally slowed down at age 98 and passed away. This is my husband, brother, and cousin at his burial. Uncle Jim made friends whether he was on top of the mountain at his fire look-out post (well into his 80's) or at the ranch, or passing out his homemade cookies. 

He was such a delightful man. 

Another best and worst was the end of the summer Cache Valley Gardener's Market. Here I am with a couple of my favorite people on the planet, Natalie Bodrero (Wander Often) and Amy Dunn (Amaloop) if you want to follow their art. I love doing the market. It really feels me with joy. 

November Worst: Donald Trump was elected president. If you don't understand why some of us are grieving because of this, then please just with hold judgment. It feels like the beginning of the end. Don't tell me it's ridiculous. Don't try to tell me that Hillary would have been just as bad. Just let my heart ache and let me feel sad. 

Bests: The day after the election we drove up to the cabin in Montana and had three days of glorious sunshine and shirtsleeve hiking weather. We didn't have any news to remind us of our sorrow. 

This little guy's third birthday. He's still really

easy to please. Give him some french fries and let him play and life is as good as it gets. 

Mick and I were able to have a fabulous fun night at Mama Mia at the Eccles (though his truck broke down before he got there and he missed the first 40 minutes. 

Thanksgiving: We had all of our son's family, our daughter and her bf, My niece and nephew, whom I adore--great food, great conversation, and fun games. What a beautiful day. On the down side most everyone got sick within the next few days. I'm still counting on that it had nothing to do with the food we served, since our youngest grandson was sick when he got here, but who knows for sure?

Another best and worst was our fun and short trip

down to Moab and Arches. It is one of my very 

favorite places and we so enjoyed being with 

our daughter. But both she and her friend got sick too. And her friend had a broken leg, so he could only hike short distances and even then was in a lot of pain. Poor guy, but what a good sport. 

December: 

 

Bests: The Winter Gift Market at the Bullen Arts Center. It's not the best for sales, but it is so much fun hanging out with these fun folks. Life is always better when you get to sell your art and encourage other artisans to sell theirs. I also got to do another sale at Suzi Bates house the next week. She's the one in the gray who is making us laugh. 

Christmas: Was both good and bad. Our daughter had invited us to NYC, but we decided to save the money and stay home. Our son invited us, but it snowed too much to go. We missed hearing our DIL sing, but a good friend spent the day with us. Then son and kids came the next day. 

We had a dinner party pre-New Years. Lots of fun playing games, talking, eating and staying cozy and warm in the house. Our grandkids spent a few days with us and we even sledded in the yard. All in all the year ended on a great note.  As I look at all the positives of this year and of course there were many that I didn't list, I have to say--it all ain't so bad thanks to my wonderful friends and family.