How did it go for you?

Don’t tell me. It sucked eh?

Ok so I won’t deny it. It was a year filled with many surprises. And most of those surprises were rather unpleasant.

We mourned the deaths of many a celebrity. I won’t pretend to be devastated by some of these deaths because really I am not a Star Wars fan. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a sense of, “Oh no, another artist gone,” but am I absolutely upset? Nope.

I did love George Micheal. I loved Wham. I had posters of him up on my wall and I cried to Careless Whisper, I fantasized about waking George up before he went went, I knew all the words to Last Christmas. I grew up with him, literally, WITH HIM. He was on the cassette tapes in my tape recorder, he was on the radio in my room, he was in the clubs I went to, he was on my walls, he was in my thoughts (please don’t ask me to elaborate on the said thoughts, I’m a married woman you know).

And when I found out about his sexuality, I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut because  even though the “thoughts” no longer feature (they haven’t in the last er…lets say couple of decades), it made me sad that I don’t stand a chance at all.

So when news of George passing came, I was sad because he was such a big part of my coming of age.

That said, would I call 2016 a bad year? Nope, not for me and I am not being insensitive, please put your swords and daggers away.

You see, I asked myself, when was the last time I thought about George? Quite frankly, I can’t even remember. Do I play his songs? Every now and then. But that’s it you see. I am happy he made those songs. He gave us his music, left us his voice. I am not sad, I am grateful.

We also lost Umberto Eco, the accomplished Italian author who wrote, in my opinion, a masterpiece, “The Name Of The Rose”

And Prince, ouch, Prince. Does hurt to think about that.

Of course there were many more. But this post will go on forever if I start to list them.

From a global perspective too, there were many shifts. Brexit. How the hell did that even happen? And before we tried to begin to understand the implications of it, we were left saddling in our hands good old Mr Trump. I feverishly prayed for him not to win. But then I remembered I live across the world and what happens in America although affects me here and there, is it enough to depress me?

Nope.

I realized that the goings on around me were bleak, yes. But then there were far more things to be happy about in the year than not.

What? Are you crazy? – I hear you ask.

Most certainly not.

See, if I think about all the other things that could go wrong and didn’t, then you will agree that there really isn’t much to be sad about. All in all, it was a good year.

I had 365 days of fairly good health. I did gain a couple of kilos over Christmas but really that was my own doing (the chocolates were sooooo gooood).

My family members and myself travelled a fair bit. We took trains, planes, cars and much more and we all arrived our destinations of choice safely.

I ate well. I had more than enough to eat. No wait, I ate too much really. You get my point.

I interacted with great people, met inspiring mentors who motivated me to push harder and move faster.

I was never short of money. By the way, did you know that up to 80% of the world population lives on less than $10 a day?

My home was safe, we were all well protected by some very brave people who stand guard at the gates of my apartment block.

I got to see the sunrise numerous times in 2016, and each time it felt like the first. And I saw flowers. And smiles, plenty of them. And my kids. And my extended family. And I also saw a centipede! Yes, it is weird..I like centipedes, not like really, they’re just intriguing.

Again, if I list all the things I am grateful for, this post will go on forever. Suffice to say that even as I recall the many magical moments I had in 2016, I find myself smiling till it hurts.

I bet if you thought about all the good times you had, you would be smiling too.

Me and a friend were just chatting one time, years ago, and I said to her nonchalantly, “The world is a crazy place. Just look at all the bad out there.”

She wrinkled her brows and asked me with honest-to-god confusion, “What are you talking about?”

I replied, “Don’t you see all the ugliness? Can’t you see what’s happening, what people are doing these days?”

She thought about it for a moment and then finally replied, “You know what, I don’t. I really don’t. I think I am too focussed on the good stuff happening. Keeps me busy.”

Since that day, she has become my best friend. And in all the years I have known her, I have tried my very best to adjust my focus too. I am not always successful but on the evening of december 31st, when I sat with myself for a few minutes to review the year, I managed to keep myself busy with the goodness. And for that I thank her.

Goodbye 2016. You were kind to me. Welcome, 2017 my new mate! We have never met before but I can’t wait to get to know you.