2012 ends tonight. The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the in between.
Here’s the best of 2012, the worst of 2012, and some of the stuff in between:
Best 2012 memory: Surprising my uncle on College Avenue in Oakland while he was shopping for bread for his party. I was his unexpected, unannounced 70th birthday present!
Worst 2012 memory: Waking in the middle of the night with a parched mouth haunted by how my mother may have suffered during her last days of life.
Second worst 2012 memory: Seeing my husband writhing in unspeakable pain from gallstones. He had to have gallstone surgery to get them removed.
Sweetest 2012 memory: Reading poetry together around the kitchen table by the lights of our menorah. For Hanukah our family exchanges poetry instead of gifts.
Second sweetest 2012 memory: Making a special hardbound book for my 13-year-old daughter filled with photographs and words of wisdom from all the women in her life.
The 6 books I enjoyed reading most this year:
1. King Lear
2. Starters
3. Far From the Tree (A read-in-progress … this astounding nonfiction achievement is over 900 pages long. It’s about children who are different from their parents and how parents handle those differences. Read more about the book on Amazon)
4. NurtureShock
5. The Price of Privilege
6. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
2012: Now let’s do the numbers
Trips to Disneyland: 1
(Times my kids have been to Disneyland prior to 2012: 0)
Best summer activity: Cornell Camp was amazing
Visits to the Emergency Room for the kids: 0
Doctor visits for the kids: 0
Visits to the Emergency Room for the husband: 2
Gallstones inside his gallbladder, removed by emergency surgery: 5
Size of the largest gallstone: as big as a jawbreaker
Most commented on post: Arrest of an Indiana Midwife
Most controversial posts: 12 Reasons Why the AAP is Right and You Should Circumcise Your Son, Women Who Don’t Breastfeed Shouldn’t Feel Guilty, They Should Feel Angry
Favorite post: 43 Things I know Now That I’m 43
We ate apples dipped in honey to usher in a sweet new year back in September. By the Jewish calendar, January 1, 2013 is really the year 5,773.
But 13 is my luckiest number and I am hoping that 2013 will be a good year.
Our plan for tonight is to have what my father always suggested to me in high school (I ignored him back then): a nice quiet evening at home.
For those who celebrate it, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
May 2013 bring good health, kindness, generosity, prosperity, lightness, and, above all, peace, to you, yours, and every sentient being on Earth.
Published: December 31, 2012
Last update: January 21, 2020
debra zaslow says
Happy New year, Dear woman. I hope it’s great new year for you, especially with the publication of your new book!
Michelle O'Neil says
Happy New Year Jennifer!
Alisa Bowman says
Happy New Year! Thanks for the list of great reads–many on there I want to check out.
Myra lou says
Happy New Year Jennifer.
I like the sound of 2013.
Lauren says
Happy part-way through 5,773! I love reading your posts.