Reflections on 2018

When I look back at 2018, I have a generally good feeling. A couple of difficult personal events happened toward the end of the year, but overall, it was a good year, and a year of firsts for me. Let’s dig in.

Challenges

We’ll get the rough stuff out of the way first. November was definitely the most challenging month, with a storage unit fire early and the passing of a longtime pet near the end.

The remains of the storage unit fire (L), and Sophia, the Bewilderbeast (R)
(Like you couldn’t tell.)

About half my possessions were in the storage unit, and most burned up or were damaged beyond repair from fire and water, including a number of family heirlooms. Every few days, I think about something that I haven’t seen for a while, and realize I’ll probably never see it again. That stings a little, but it’s actually fairly easy to acknowledge that feeling and move on, since there’s no chance of recovering anything. As time goes on and the fire becomes more distant, it’s actually becoming something of a positive, because some of the items in that storage unit triggered painful memories, and resolving them through fire seems appropriate.

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Little Things

Little Things

(song lyrics)

Some people try to ignore or deny
The Magic of being in Love
They bicker and fight and sometimes they might
Even give their lover a shove

But we know the way to make Love stay
Is to let the trust flow
Support and respect have the effect
Of helping true Love to grow

(Chorus)
A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
Candles flicker gently in the air
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s rare

It just takes a few moments with you
To turn a frown around
And when I stay for the rest of the day
My feet don’t touch the ground

The Love that we give helps us to live
Through the tough times
Through hardship and wealth, sickness and health
Our Love continues to climb

A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
A tender smile when one of us is blue
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s true

(Instrumental Break)

A note and a rose on a soft white bed
The warmth of your breath as you kiss my head
A hug on a darkened baseball field
Little things we do add up to a Love that’s real

— Stace Johnson, 1994

Moonlight Scarenade

Moonlight Scarenade

(song lyrics)

He sat in the dark of a cold city park,
Dried tears shining clear in the starlight.
As the full moon rose, he rubbed at his nose
And began speaking out to the night.

“If I talk to the Moon about my fears
Maybe she can put and end to these tears.”
Well, the Moon said hello and began to climb slow
Over a mountain horizion.

“See, there’s this girl I respect, and I feel we connect
On a level below the waterline.
She’s been a good friend, and I hope that won’t end
If I tell her why I’ve been cryin’.

I’ve told you now, Moon, about one of my fears.
Tell me, what can I do to stop these tears?”
The Moon held her say as she went on her way
Across a starlight horizon.

“I’m not in a place where I can offer with grace
The feelings that I speak of,
But it would be a sin not to let her in
On the fact that I’m falling in love.”

Well, he told the full Moon about all of his fears
But she did not a thing to end his tears.
Instead, the Moon said good night as she slipped out of sight
Beneath a valley horizon.

As he sat in the park, shivering in the dark,
He knew the risk he had to face.
Their friendship was strong, and he knew it was wrong
Not to put his fear in its place.

He called to the Moon that he’d face his fears
And get on with his life despite the tears,
But the Moon was long gone, and he looked to the dawn
Tinting the eastern horizon.

— Stace Johnson, 1993