Retrospective Lily

The possibilities might surprise you.

I spent New Year’s Eve 2023 with my boyfriend, my brother, his girlfriend, and her sister. We first went for a walk in the park, then we ate at a restaurant. Throughout the evening, we caught up, laughed, and discussed timely topics like resolutions and lessons learned.

We landed on the topic of romantic relationships, and my brother mentioned that my previous one lasted seven years. My brother’s gf’s sis was astonished because her longest one lasted just four years. She recently became single again.

She then asked: What’s your advice on getting over something like that?

(My advice isn’t usually so directly solicited.)

Let me think about that, I replied. I want to give a thoughtful answer to your thoughtful question.

As I gazed around the table, the answer became clear.

You can’t even imagine how happy you will be in the future. I couldn’t have pictured this setting, this moment before I had met my boyfriend, before my brother met your sister. You don’t know where you will end up…but it will be great.

(I should have included this phrase I got from social media: “You haven’t met all the people who will love you.” What a powerful, hopeful sentiment.)

She grinned and said, So, basically, you’re telling me to have a little faith?

~

As I mull over my goals for this year and where I see myself in the future and what I want to accomplish in life, I bear a few “resolution-setting-tips” in mind:

• I should set goals that are realistic and actually achievable.
• I should balance gentleness and self-appreciation with challenging myself and self-reflection.
• I should think in a big picture sense about what I’ll be glad I spent time on vs. what I’ll regret having sunk time into down the road.
• I should be thoughtful in considering how much spare time I actually have for pursuing goals.
• I should remember that my progressive disability will strongly influence how my life plays out.

Now, I’m thinking I can add another one:

I should have a little faith.

The future is uncertain. That can be terrifying…but what if it’s grand??

Here’s to hoping we all have things happen for us in 2024 that are so wonderful we couldn’t have imagined them.