When I stopped blogging every day, WordPress started sending me daily blog topics. It must have been a glitch since I didn’t sign up for them, and the prompts eventually stopped, but while it lasted, I found some of the ideas interesting, such as the question in the title: what big events took place in your life during in the past year?
I made note of this topic to use at some point, and apparently, this is the point, though to be honest, I can’t think of five events that have taken place over the past year let alone big events. Probably the most noteworthy thing that happened in that it devastated upset me was the death of swaths of my lawn as well as the invasion of Bermuda grass. Eventually, I will dig up the dead and unwanted grass and replant it, but all that brown is so unpretty! I’m learning that the yard will never be beautiful for long stretches of time because it is a living thing in constant flux, so it’s important for me to enjoy the beauty when I can. That lesson is not an event, of course, but is an important one that I hope to take to heart this spring and summer as various plants grow, fade away, and die.
Stopping my daily blogging is not exactly an event either since it’s something I didn’t do rather than what I did do, but it was a big deal — for three years I blogged every day, and then I didn’t.
My sisters came to visit, and that truly was a big event! (This should have been the first thing I remembered, since it really was the most noteworthy, and I am a bit embarrassed that my grass and blogging came to mind first. Luckily, my sisters don’t read this blog so they won’t know where their visit was relegated in memory!) All the big events of the year came during that visit — visiting Vogel Canyon, finally getting to see a tarantula, visiting Bent’s Fort, and various other activities.
It’s surprising to me that a year that went by so quickly is so hard to remember. It could be that in living for the day, I’m not storing the things that happened. It might be that since I gave up daily blogging and so didn’t write about everything, that events didn’t stick in my memory. Or it’s possible that memory retrieval is breaking down due to age. Whatever the reason, it was a year of big events and small, memorable and not. And I grew a year older.
At my age, that final point truly is a big event. During 2022, so many people did not have the opportunity to grow a year older (approximately 67 million), that I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue aging.
What about you? What were the big events of your life last year?
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
Bertram's Blog 
January 2, 2023 at 10:55 am
The privilege of aging is one we tend to take for granted…or not appreciate as much as we should. It’s easy to complain about some of the negatives that accompany the aging process, but I like the quip that says, “it’s better than the alternative.”
When we compose our annual Christmas family newsletter I usually have to skim through our calendar first for the notations of important things that have taken place. The calendar is more reliable than my memory. LOL. This year the highlights (and lowlights) involved my knee replacement surgery in the spring, listing our property for sale in the summer, getting Covid-19 in December, and of course some happy family visits throughout the year.
Our place is still unsold, so trying to keep it pristine and viewer-ready will continue to be a big preoccupation until the right buyer comes along. Hopefully some of 2023’s highlights will be more memorable. Happy New Year, Pat!
January 2, 2023 at 5:10 pm
With any luck, 2023 will be a great year for you, with your house selling and not getting sick. Best of luck in the new year!
January 2, 2023 at 1:33 pm
Man, what didn’t happen in 2022 to me? The biggest thing that happened to me was that I bought my first home, a 2-bedroom condo in a nice neighborhood about 20 minutes drive from my day job. I signed the papers in June, moved in in July, and have been happily paying the bills since. It’s been a pain at times, but it’s also been very rewarding to have my own home.
Along with that, I got some stories published, and even released an anthology some friends of mine and I put together using a publishing press we founded. That was a big thing, and I hope it leads to even bigger things. Actually, 2022 was great for my writing career (though I have a feeling 2023 will be even greater).
And I got to see relatives of mine whom I haven’t seen in person since before the pandemic, so that was nice. We all hung out in Detroit, saw some local sights, and just had a good time. Hopefully it won’t be another 3-4 years before we can all get together again.
January 2, 2023 at 5:09 pm
Sounds like a wonderfully eventful year! Wishing you the same in 2023.
January 2, 2023 at 5:26 pm
Thanks! Same to you!
January 4, 2023 at 4:01 am
I got a new dog – a baby 12 months – was a foster dog now she’s family! The biggest change since my boy died three years ago. It sounds stupid but it was stressful changing my world- allowing ‘the new’ in. Best thing I’ve done in years. Even though I come home to chaos! And my magnolia gave two blossoms. Big events – and good ones. I hope your reunion was a good one Pat☺️
January 4, 2023 at 8:33 am
The reunion was great. Your getting a dog sounds wonderful. Sometimes chaos is a good thing — it helps remind you you’re not so alone. And yes, blooms are a big event, at least to me. Here’s to more happy big events for both of us.