Leaving a Few Things Behind

"Year's end is neither an end or a beginning, but a going on with all the wisdom experience can instill in us."

--Hal Borland

It's not quite the end of the year, but we are getting there. It's been quite a ride, hasn't it? I don't care who you are, 2017 was a kick in the pants, no question. Some good, some bad, and some events so mind-bogglingly stupid, it's a wonder the human race has survived this long. It has though, so we should probably just keep going. While it's a time when some people think up resolutions and goals, promising to do better at this or to eat less of that, isn't how I roll. Instead, I look back at the year like it was a buffet in some imaginary cafeteria. I put some items on my plate, and others got handed to me. There were things I passed by because they looked awful, or in a few cases, because they seemed too good, in that tempting way that never works out well. Here are a few habits that cropped up a lot for me in 2017 that I am leaving there.

Arguing over politics on social media. I'm so done. It's clear that some people won't ever see it my way, and I'm not coming over to their side, so why waste the air? I grew up on political debate; my father would discuss the Church, the government, our laws and the people responsible for running it all on a regular basis. He'd go off at the drop of a hat and get into it with anyone, face to face, usually over a beer, which is so much better than over the Internet. A friend in college, who knew our family was from the Boston area, asked him, "Mr. Kelley, what's it like to have lived where the Kennedys came from?" His answer? "Well, it wasn't a big deal unless, you know, I had the audacity to say I'd voted for someone else. Then it got a little prickly, but it's never bothered me, I just made sure none of them lived where I wanted to live, because…there goes the neighborhood." He said it to start something, because he was smart enough to know how to finish it. While I will miss the intelligent political debate, it's finally dawned on me that it's almost nonexistent anyway, at least via a keyboard or screen.

Being surprised. I've given that up too, because, quite frankly, if a news bulletin came on today that said there would no longer be a Post Office, and the buildings were going to be converted to casinos, I can't say I'd be shocked. It's been one eventful year, and most of it, for me anyway, was pretty unexpected. Oh, there's a new rule that everyone has to wear orange on Sundays? Ok, whatever. What's that? Failure to use a turn signal is now a felony? Fine. So many times over the year I said, "No, that won't happen" and then it did. Santa Clause is resigning because he got handsy with an elf? Of course, he did. Someone sent a nasty note to a neighbor over a tree and some lights, and didn't have the stones to sign it? Not surprising at all, I've got my own little anonymous fan sending me critiques now and then about this column, but never a signature. Old news.

People who just don't "get it." While that's rather vague, it's something we all recognize.  There are always a few people like this, and maybe they are family members or coworkers that have to be tolerated, but I'm pretty much over feeling badly about not wanting to deal with…well…crap that doesn't matter. Don't get me wrong, I don't know anyone who's a total jerk or anything, but 2017 proved that sometimes, the world can be a tough place. Anyone who makes it more difficult is off my radar.

I sent a kid off to the military this year, and another kid is lighting it up at a new school where she didn't even know where her first class would be. I got up every day and did my work, and took care of my family, and didn't run anyone over with my car, which, to be honest, wasn't always easy. It's here though, the end of another trip around the sun. The Airman is coming home (tomorrow!), and there's a rib roast waiting to be devoured. Nothing that happened this past year was a waste though because after some of the "experiences" of 2017, there's got to be a whole lot of wisdom around and that is what will carry us all into the coming year, right?