On New Year's Eve, instead of sharing #OneGoodThing, I share #TwelveGoodThings, one for each month of the year:
1. For the 20th year running, Husband is my top good thing. He drives me crazy and we often want to strangle each other but he makes me laugh every day and he keeps getting handsomer every year and there's nothing I love better than making him laugh.
2. Oldest, my snarktastic teen. This kid is so funny and wonderfully weird and he reminds me on a daily basis what writing is supposed to be like. There is nothing I love better than talking about storytelling with him. How did I get so lucky to have this boy as my eldest?
3. Youngest, my sweet and analytical 4th grader. There is nothing I love better than answering his questions about the meaning of things. How did I get so lucky to have this boy as my youngest?
4. Tivo and The Dude, the noble greyhound and the laziest cat in Milwaukee county. Whether Tivo is leaning on me or Dude is sitting on me or I am simply brushing their hair off my sweaters, I am constantly reminded of how good it is to have four-footed family members.
5. My sister. Tracie is the best. I won the sister lottery. My lifelong partner in crime is my favorite podcasting partner and my favorite person to share pop culture obsessions with and I feel lucky I get to have her as a sister. Also, she sends the best no-context David Tennant and Michael Sheen thirst trap images via text.
6. Writing. I broke through a years-long creativity block this year, thanks to Rhonda Douglas who helped me get it through my stubbornly thick skull that rough drafts are supposed to be rough. I am back in touch with the fun of writing for the first time in years.
7. AO3. 2023 destroyed one of my oldest snobberies: fanfiction. While I regret my 40 years of looking down on fanfic, I couldn't be happier about finally being introduced to this vibrant part of the writing community.
8. My career. I get to write for a living! I will always be grateful for this.
9. Judaism. I am so thankful for my faith tradition with its open-ended questions, its rituals, its humor, its light, and its food.
10. Good friends. We spend every New Year's Eve with our old friends from Lafayette. I [theoretically] discuss books with my book club ladies every month. My college friends are no longer just down the hall, but we see each other as often as we can and we still can talk for hours about everything and nothing. Friends bring such warmth and sparkle and comfort and joy.
11. Movies. We started a weekly family movie night tradition this year after I realized that sharing films is my love language. Watching movies with my best beloveds is a singular joy.
12. New beginnings. Tomorrow starts a new year. Next month I will turn another year older. Each day is another opportunity for all of us to start anew or create a better future. We constantly get new chances to make the world we want to live in.
On this last evening of 2023, what's your #OneGoodThing today?
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