Things About My 2016 (List#6)

The New-Year mark is a time for lists, even for people who aren’t as obsessed with them as I am. In the spirit of “contained chaos” (see yesterday’s list and my underwear drawer) this is a rather random list of “Things About 2016,” as I experienced it… It’s not a comprehensive list of all the “big things” that happened, and it’s not a recap of my Facebook Timeline—it’s just things that stand out about the year as a whole…

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  I got to spend more time on a motorcycle than ever in my life. Not just the 600 miles of road-trip, but around town for nine months of the year. If there’s not lightning or snow, we’re on the bike! (We even took a whole roast turkey to a church potluck… on the bike.) I also discover that I like SPEED, for which a BMW is built! Sometime I want to get in-helmet mikes, because I can hear Jon singing away while we ride, and I want to hear his invented lyrics! As it is, we chat at stoplights but can’t hear each other the rest of the ride. (Maybe every husband’s dream??)

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  I like being a Smith. When the ball dropped last New Year’s Eve, Jon dropped too… to one knee, with a ring. And now I never have to spell my last name. I’m also glad to have an unusual name to go with it (I have yet to meet another Kana Smith, but you can bet there are a ton of Jon Smiths around)… And more specifically, I like being Mrs. Smith—I still smile every time I hear Jon’s cheery “How’s my Little Mrs. Smith?” over the phone when he calls from work.

• Probation… Thanks to my relapse & DUI of December ’15, I’ve spent this year on probation. That means that U/A’s (pee-tests to prove I’m not drinking) and visits with my P.O. (Probation Officer) are a regular part of my life, not to mention lack-of-license, court hearings, community service, Sheriff’s Labor Detail (yes, orange vest picking up trash along the freeways) and a lot of fees and fines. I’m counting down: 10 more weeks and I won’t belong to the State anymore.

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  I’m missing my son (who hasn’t been talking to me since that DUI) but I’m surely finding joy in my daughter. She’s even more ME than I’d realized…  It made me laugh last Sunday, how many times she said, “I know where I got THAT!” She’s turning into a (frighteningly) beautiful and poised woman, and it’s a whole new relationship.

• I’ve become part of a bigger family than I’m accustomed to! Jon grew up in a tribe of ten, and the eight surviving siblings (with spouses) and his parents all camped out together this summer. Watching the five brothers interacting that weekend? Priceless.

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  Soulmates aren’t always spouses. (Nor do I believe that we only have ONE.) Sometimes you meet someone who just clicks with your soul, someone you feel you’ve always known. That’s my lovely girl, Teresa. She lives in the RV park and works at its office with me, and when the spot next to hers came open, we moved into it! (Another advantage of mobile living: you can choose your neighbors!)

• And of course I have to give “mobile living” a mention, though I’ve already been saying plenty in this blog. If you’ve been reading here, you already know: I’m loving living in our RV.
• I’ve prayed more this year than in previous years, and I’ve had a better year. Despite losses (my dad, my grandma) and setbacks (probation) and rough spots (mental hospital)  it has been a better year. Coincidence? I think not!
  

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What’s on the horizon for 2017? I’m going to learn fly-fishing and rapelling, courtesy of my husband. I’m going to read a lot (as always). I’m going to keep writing, now that I’ve started again. I’m going to do some scuba diving in Idaho lakes. I’m going to enjoy hundreds of miles more on the motorcycle. I’m going to pray, and live Sober. I’m going to get new tattoos. I’m going to grin a lot.