Where has this year gone?
I can't believe that Thanksgiving is in two days!
This year has really flown by. I guess we get to a point in life where we say that every year. Does it ever slow back down, even in retirement? At least I still remember long ago when a year seemed like such a long time.
I'm glad that I am keeping this blog because it does help me keep track of just where the days go. Sometimes it's surreal though, reading back over past entries and realizing the actuality of the chronology of my life... certain events seem to have happened before others despite what my blog says, and some days seem so much more recent than they actually were.
There are days in life that, although mundane, have burned themselves into memory like they were yesterday. It's weird and I always get a chill when something reminds me of one of those days. One of them I remember a lot is a day when I was a kid, I had spent the night at my cousin's house in Paradise, and my dad came to pick me up in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary or memorable happened but I just remember the day, the way the sky looked, the way the air felt, the way it smelled. I remember that day a lot and for no other reason than I just always have.
I've been thinking a lot about my grandparents. Last week, I had dreams three nights in a row. Two of them were at my grandma and grandpa Strecker's house. I seem to have a lot of dreams there now, recently, for some weird reason. In the dreams, the house is usually empty or nearly empty, yet clean... as if they had just moved out. But, in one of the dreams, they did still live there and all I really remember was that the refrigerator (not the freezer) was filled with frozen pizzas that were apparently my grandpa's. I have no idea what that means but I doubt it's worth analyzing. Then I had one dream that Dylan and I went to my grandma Irene's apartment at Sherman Towers in Hays. We went up the staircase rather than the elevator, just like my grandma always preferred. When we knocked on her door, she came out and greeted us in the hallways but would not let us inside. For a minute when I woke up, I felt bad like maybe it meant that I shouldn't be using her poems in my songs, like she did not want people to be able to see inside her world. I don't know, I think I tend to over-analyze or misinterpret dreams a lot. I sure hope that wasn't supposed to mean that.
Anyway, like I was saying, I can't believe the year is almost over. 2008 was a trip. I can't say it was an especially good year - a lot of really bad things happened this year. Of course I try to always look at the positive, and I do believe that every bad thing that happens is just the catalyst for a positive change - I truly do believe that. But, there are growing pains and change is difficult. Plenty of awesome, special things happened this year too.
I don't know what 2009 will hold, but I do have some goals and expectations. I pray that the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8. I hope that Dylan and I do get to take our vacation to Connecticut and Massachusetts. I hope I get some recognition for my music and it would be great to get some money out of it finally! I hope that Obama and his administration are able to effectively create some change with regards to this country's economic woes, our standing in the world, and the way Americans treat each other - especially for LGBT folks.
I'm pretty happy with my life right now but I'm always looking to improve and make the world a better place, not just for me, but for others as well. I guess there is a lot to give thanks for, but as always, there's still more work to be done.
This year has really flown by. I guess we get to a point in life where we say that every year. Does it ever slow back down, even in retirement? At least I still remember long ago when a year seemed like such a long time.
I'm glad that I am keeping this blog because it does help me keep track of just where the days go. Sometimes it's surreal though, reading back over past entries and realizing the actuality of the chronology of my life... certain events seem to have happened before others despite what my blog says, and some days seem so much more recent than they actually were.
There are days in life that, although mundane, have burned themselves into memory like they were yesterday. It's weird and I always get a chill when something reminds me of one of those days. One of them I remember a lot is a day when I was a kid, I had spent the night at my cousin's house in Paradise, and my dad came to pick me up in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary or memorable happened but I just remember the day, the way the sky looked, the way the air felt, the way it smelled. I remember that day a lot and for no other reason than I just always have.
I've been thinking a lot about my grandparents. Last week, I had dreams three nights in a row. Two of them were at my grandma and grandpa Strecker's house. I seem to have a lot of dreams there now, recently, for some weird reason. In the dreams, the house is usually empty or nearly empty, yet clean... as if they had just moved out. But, in one of the dreams, they did still live there and all I really remember was that the refrigerator (not the freezer) was filled with frozen pizzas that were apparently my grandpa's. I have no idea what that means but I doubt it's worth analyzing. Then I had one dream that Dylan and I went to my grandma Irene's apartment at Sherman Towers in Hays. We went up the staircase rather than the elevator, just like my grandma always preferred. When we knocked on her door, she came out and greeted us in the hallways but would not let us inside. For a minute when I woke up, I felt bad like maybe it meant that I shouldn't be using her poems in my songs, like she did not want people to be able to see inside her world. I don't know, I think I tend to over-analyze or misinterpret dreams a lot. I sure hope that wasn't supposed to mean that.
Anyway, like I was saying, I can't believe the year is almost over. 2008 was a trip. I can't say it was an especially good year - a lot of really bad things happened this year. Of course I try to always look at the positive, and I do believe that every bad thing that happens is just the catalyst for a positive change - I truly do believe that. But, there are growing pains and change is difficult. Plenty of awesome, special things happened this year too.
I don't know what 2009 will hold, but I do have some goals and expectations. I pray that the California Supreme Court overturns Prop 8. I hope that Dylan and I do get to take our vacation to Connecticut and Massachusetts. I hope I get some recognition for my music and it would be great to get some money out of it finally! I hope that Obama and his administration are able to effectively create some change with regards to this country's economic woes, our standing in the world, and the way Americans treat each other - especially for LGBT folks.
I'm pretty happy with my life right now but I'm always looking to improve and make the world a better place, not just for me, but for others as well. I guess there is a lot to give thanks for, but as always, there's still more work to be done.
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