Celebrating "The Year End"

Calendars are made up.

I mean, they're loosely based on some factors:

• how long it takes to go around the sun
• how some people a long time ago wanted to split the year up (what even IS a year)
• a need to keep track of days and larger divisions of time for the sake of planning
  • this one feels the most important - how else will I know when your wedding is, since you invited me to it 460 days in advance?!

But the end of a YEAR?

That's just arbitrary.

Some cultures celebrate your birthday with more aplomb than the new year, and for others, the new year is a signifier of something deep, important, monumental.

Capitalism actually lives by the fiscal quarter, and so I'll be celebrating the new year as March 31 turns over into April 1. (that is a joke)

You might be feeling pressure to do something to celebrate "The Year End".

It could be a good excuse to party, or it could be a bad excuse to party - you know which is which.

It could be a moment of sadness, like you're losing something. You're losing time, you've lost friends, family, or neighbours. You're losing your vitality. You're losing a piece of your existence and essence to an unyielding, uncaring universe.

You could be excited about the future, hopeful for humanity, proud of where you know you're going, sure of your way forward.

You could be scared of what's to come, nihilistic, resentful, feeling adrift and unsure of your place in the world.

Which combination of these are you?

A little self-indulgence and personal reflection

This year was a rollercoaster for me, though when I look back at different years, I feel like many of them are rollercoasters.

I feel lucky that I can call them rollercoasters - there are highs and lows, but I happen to really enjoy rollercoasters, and usually remember the highs more than the lows.

A few lows:

• a friend died, my neighbour died, a family member passed away
  • I want to take more time to remember them all properly, these were some of the hardest moments of this year
• the boulevard tree in front of our house split in half and had to be cut down
• our roof started leaking and we had to replace it
  • upside - new roof
• our furnace died in January, and we had to replace it
  • upside - new furnace (it literally runs 60% less to achieve the same heating, man my old furnace SUCKED)
• ruptured my rectus femoris quad muscle playing ultimate frisbee in the summer and my left leg may never be the same
  • but I'll keep working to build strength. I WILL sprint again.

But more highs:

• Went to my second regular season NBA game (the first was in 2009 with my Dad). Lakers vs. Clippers in L.A.
• Went to my first regular season NFL game, Vikings vs. Rams in L.A.
• Continued to be lucky that I have a job that lets me travel to L.A., and that I get to work with the NFL. I really enjoy my work! I'm so proud of my co-workers for what we've learned together and built together.
• Spent even more time singing with Ecco Singers and creating beautiful choral music with some of my favorite people.
• Joined Those Guys Acapella and started performing with them. Truly lucky that they needed a tenor and I was the right fit.
  • Performed at Fringe, and we put on the Under the Mistletoe show - we sold out both nights!
• Got to enjoy several dance shows during the year where my wife and her dance groups performed - they work so hard and I'm so proud of her. Dancing brings her so much joy and I love seeing her perform!
• The city planted new trees all up and down our street!
• I spent more time in the garden and enjoying our tiny little porch space on sunny summer mornings.
• Got to rip around on ATVs with my coworkers at our yearly company party (the Selkirk boy in me really got to come out)
• Drove down to Minneapolis and saw Blink-182 and Pierce the Veil, explored the city with Alex and made so many more memories
• Started renovating our kitchen - and while it's not quite done, it will be our little dream kitchen in our little home in the cute little neighbourhood we'll be staying in for years to come. I'm very excited to cook in it, hang out in it, and make memories with people I love in it!
• Friends got married, people showed up for each other, friends and family got together to eat great food, spend quality time together with moments of joy, pride, and love!

Like I said, I remember the highs more than the lows. And even many of the lows are moments where I think of how my partner supported me, my friends banded together, or people in my community connected and built tighter bonds.

We each have thousands of memories about this year alone that wouldn't ever fit in a bullet list. I like to scroll through my photos from the year while visualizing the places I went to, the people who I was with, and the moments that I experienced. Building a highlight reel in my mind, solidifying the memories.

I hope you can take a few minutes to look back on things to remember how life happened this year, no matter how it went.

Life is built on those memories.

The Year End

I know I am very privileged to live the life that I have experienced so far, and to have the year that I have had - through the lows and the highs.

And even though calendars are made up, it feels good to take a moment to look back over the year. Even when I was truly depressed (in the clinical, bipolar type 2 sense), I can say that circumstances weren't so bad.

I am very lucky that I can say that.

Even when times are hard, I can hold on to hope that things can, and will get better.

The Year to Come

2025 is going to bring a lot of challenges, and a lot of adventures. I know that for some of us, there is danger, hardship, and struggle ahead.

Like every year in history, from even before we made up this system to keep track of days and larger divisions of time, we have needed to acknowledge the lows, improve where we can, and celebrate the highs that we, our communities, and humanity, experience together.

Depending on where you are in the world, you'll experience the New Year at a different time, and each one of us will experience a completely different kind of year.

But no matter what kind of year you experience, we're all in it together.

Much love to you all in 2025 ❤️