Best of the Year. Dec. 12-17. #2018BOTY
What was the Best of 2018 for me? This is a continuation. My job and life being as they are, I’d never remember to post every day, these days. I got this idea and the graphic from Beaton at becomingthemuse.wordpress.com
These are the best of 2018 for me, #12 to #17.
12. Achievement- I landed my first book signing ever! What did it take? Well, I have entered my book in many book contests, gotten some acclaim, boosted my confidence, and….drum roll: I made the call to an independent book store. That is what it took. The confidence; I had to develop that. After that, I just had to make sure to tell every single friend I had. I was so grateful for all of the people who showed up!
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13. Lesson Learned- I keep learning this lesson, and I put it into practice in 2017, but I kept working it this year to yield the results. The lesson is this: The best thing you can give your offspring is unconditional love, no matter what. I have learned this with my son again and again. Some will advise that I need to cut him loose as a young adult. I do give him his freedom and space, but he just seems to not be ready for certain things. It would take a lot of time to reiterate what he has been through in the last four years, but I’ll suffice it to say that he still is not driving since his car accident and concussion of Jan., 2017. He rides a bike to work at a car wash, and he is happy there working around 30 hours a week. He is appreciated by the owner and very punctual. I am proud of that; he has been at it for a little over a year now. He is a very quiet young man. Some people are taken aback by that. Just realize, some of us have an awful lot going on inside, and we have been on a mental health journey as a family to understand him and to deal with things without responding in anger, anxiety, or hopelessness. We went together to RI to see my dad this summer, and he was like a quiet child, but best of all, he enjoyed himself in his quiet manner. When it was boring on the plane, we played a word game app together. I caught his cold, but I couldn’t distance him when he was actually interacting with me far more than he had in over a year. He has grown; he likes to watch movies with me, and he listens to books on audio at times. I believe his interests are coming back, and I won’t focus on the fact that he isn’t reading the books, but that he is developing some interests.
[image error] From our first visit to RI, 2010.
14. The Best blog post is by Beaton, who inspired me to join the Best of the Year posts! It was a September blog post about the elections and resulting riots in Zimbabwe with a more recent follow up. This just shows how the world of blogging can connect people across the oceans and in other countries. He was out and about when the riots occurred and fearful for his safety. How else could I know the perspective of someone who went through this? I am really into learning about other points of view and the global knowledge one can attain through the internet. He recently posted a follow up, to include real life photos and a Youtube clip of one of the politicians justifying their actions. I have used and presented Beaton’s blog posts with my Journalism class, to get their frame of mind out of their own little corner and to learn about the world. Visit his recent post: https://becomingthemuse.wordpress.com/2018/11/18/of-coffee-with-a-state-march-of-mind/
15. Person you met-At my booksigning in November, I met Lena Sheqeraq, an author who writes children’s books, one of them an ESL teacher resource. I am always glad to meet and network with new authors, and it’s great that she is local! She even gave me the name of her publisher. This could lead to something exciting! I’ll let you know when I know. 
