Which in listing my 2016 goals accomplished (or not) I didn’t really acknowledge. So it probably sounded like the year’s events were just stuff to tick off a list, with no emotional content, and that’s hardly the case. Here, therefore, are some of the things that made me happy in 2016:
•I’m married to TYG. That’s not exactly an accomplishment as we’ve been married since mid-2011, but it still makes me incredibly joyous.
•The pups make me happy too. For all the work they take at times, I can’t imagine not having them.
•Now and Then We Time Travel came out. Which is a goal accomplished but it also felt really, really good (all rights to cover image remain with current holder).
•I finished Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast (which is now out too).
•TYG and I traveled to New York a year ago, which was an absolute blast, for example seeing Van Gogh’s Starry Night.
•We hit San Diego for the Mensa national gathering last July. That was a blast too, particularly the San Diego Zoo.
•I read a lot. That’s always nice. And I finished my (re)watching of both John Sayles and the Coen Brothers’ films.
•I went back to northwest Florida again. That’s always nice (though given how right-wing the community is as a whole, I’m glad to be out of it during the Trump presidency).
And there were lots of little things. Evenings out, the occasional party, snuggling on the weekends, bicycling (I must do much more of that this year), cooking … and I’m still a full-time writer. And that’s what I want to be. Plus I’m still married to and in love with TYG, did I mention that? Well I don’t care if I did, it’s worth saying twice.
So on a purely personal level, it was a good year.