How does one start a recap post?

I can tell you about the moments that made up this year. Some were joy in abundance. Some were desolate and sorrowful. Some were spent in limbo, neither one nor the other, a little apprehensive, a little excited. Most were in between.

I’d like to chat about all of these moments, and maybe share the posts that best summarise the highs and lows of 2018 in my life.

I started the year on a pretty low point, gripped heavily by anxiety and depression. I was sad about the loved ones we’d left behind in Germany, stressed about my novel, and generally dealing with a lot. My first post of the year listed the goals I wanted to achieve, but I’ll recap that in the first week of January. The second post of 2018 was about panic attacks, a post that pretty much set the tone for the first third of the year.

I took a break from social media, an exercise that taught me many valuable lessons that led to the results post. This was an important part of finding myself again. I’d been so low, so lost.

I asked for sympathy. I felt inadequate. I finally felt better.

I realised that my mental health was important, and took steps to learn more about that. Literal steps, in long walks. Getting out every day turned out to be one of the most important things I did in 2018, and is defnitely something I plan to continue doing in 2019.

I put out a bunch of really detailed and researched posts about writing, including the Writing Emotions series, and my post about Travel in Writing. I loved putting those together, and want to continue adding that kind of content to the blog. I also really enjoyed finally talking a little about my book, The Physician’s Apprentice, in this post. I’ve thought of a few similar posts in the near future, simply because I’m so excited and need to babble about it. The book is finished, folks. Done. Book two is taking shape nicely-a huge win.

I also really enjoyed making a bunch of art tutorials in 2018, my favourite of which was the one on small birds.

We went to Niagara falls twice. The beauty of this is how my mood at the time was reflected in weather on each occasion. The first time was early in the year, when I was constantly sick and very anxious. The fog had been so thick we couldn’t see the actual falls. The second time, when I’d found my groove again, and was generally happier, the sun was out. In fact, it was rainbows all around that time.

The event of 2018 was the move to Calgary. I broke the news in this post, in as few as possible words while my heart was breaking. We’ve now said goodbye to and left people behind on three continents. Three.

The road trip from Toronto to Calgary was a definite highlight of 2018. We saw and breathed things I’d never exchange.

Finally, this place. Calgary. I’m so bewitched, so thoroughly entranced, I’m still unable to put it to words. Yes, I’m sad about the people we left behind in Toronto (you all mean so much to us) and I miss some of the places for sure, but the biggest gift 2018 gave us was and is Calgary.

And that’s it, in a nutshell.

Thank you for your support, words of encouragement, wisdom. Thank you for reading when the posts were negative, when they were neutral, and when they became positive again-just like their author. It’s been a heck of a ride, good and bad and marvellously real.

I’ll be back at this madness early in January. Until then, be safe, and have a happy holiday season.

Yolandie