Year-end conclusions. Positive and negative. Tell us about it

[JOHN72]

A perfect day to spit out stories of this year 2024. The positive of this year, is that I am happy to belong to this forum, and to have met, even virtually, friends, comrades, here endearing. On the negative side, my sister-in-law has not changed for the better, she keeps spitting on me. This year, for me, has not been one of the best, it is something like when you go fishing in a rowboat, and once you are far from the shore, you lose the oars and you forget your fishing kit at home. This year, for me, has not been one of the best, it is something like when you go fishing in a rowboat, and once you are far from the shore, you lose the oars and you forget your fishing kit at home. You get a gut clench, and you haven't trimmed your fingernails in months, and you don't have any wet wipes.

 

[Sigmund]

I know I got older. I feel it!

 

[MisterBadger]

Hmmm... 2024... Yes, one big positive thing about this year, is that I joined this forum. Another is the arrival of my neice's first daughter, three days into the year; another, I completed on the purchase of a convenient piece of land and scattered my mother's ashes under one of the apple trees there (she passed in 2023). Mrs Badger and I also started working at the nearby Acton Scott Heritage Farm, doing what we do best, and have made friends with some excellent people there. And I've discovered some nice new (and old) pipes, and tobaccos.

On the minus side, I have lost two old friends and the last of my beloved cats is on the way out, too. The weather here has become less predictable (not that it ever is in Britain, which is why we talk about it so much),. and it has not been a good growing year for me for anything but apples, potatoes and turnips. And I lost some rare heirloom plants to rabbits.

But from a purely selfish point of view, for me 2024 has been very kind on the whole; the worst thing about it has been the crappy year many of my friends have had, in ways where I have not been able to help beyond praying and lighting more candles.

Am I optimistic about the year ahead? Yes. I'm always optimistic. I can't help it. I wish you all a new year that exceeds your hopes and desires.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Started out good had big home improvement plans. Had to give up my job and retire early then got bad news from my doctor and wracked up $17,000 of medical bills.

 

[tracerbullet]

Knock on wood. No real complaints from me.
getting older with the normal physical changes associated with the advancement
Currently 1.5 years to retirement. Spent a lot of time with my current 4.5 yo. granddaughter.
looking forward to the next trip around the sun

 

[TheIronMonkey]

.

 

[JOHN72]

My wife contracted type 1 diabetes a few years ago, a little over a year ago she had another radical operation, I lost my job, my brother passed away. We don't want to win the lottery anymore, just to have some health, to be able to see the sun tomorrow, and give a kiss to your loved ones. Damn it. I'm sorry to hear about your friends, your pets, comrade MisterBadger. Prayers for them. I remember a comrade of the forum, his two daughters got cancer, I have lost track of him. I still feel pain and anger when I remember his words of suffering. God bless him, wherever he is.

 

[MisterBadger]

My wife contracted type 1 diabetes a few years ago, a little over a year ago she had another radical operation, I lost my job, my brother passed away. We don't want to win the lottery anymore, just to have some health, to be able to see the sun tomorrow, and give a kiss to your loved ones. Damn it. I'm sorry to hear about your friends, your pets, comrade MisterBadger. Prayers for them. I remember a comrade of the forum, his two daughters got cancer, I have lost track of him. I still feel pain and anger when I remember his words of suffering. God bless him, wherever he is.

@JOHN72 - I seem to be able to reckon the passing of the years by the way I have to add more and more people to the ever-growing list of prayers, intercessions, and intentions. To love is to suffer vicariously. Sociopaths must have a really easy time of it - but Hell, I'd never want to be one of them. I hope your brother is in The Good Place and that your lady wife is going on well despite her past troubles.

 

[PaulRVA]

We’re all still here and that beats the alternative most of the time!
I’m Thankful for what I have and also grateful to still be around after 2022-2023’s medical problems.
I hope all of us have a better 2025

 

[tschiraldi]

2024?
Hmmm.
Here’s what I learned.
3rd shift sucks. (Glad it’s over)
I still miss Mom. (It doesn’t get easier)
My 3 boys are doing well transitioning into true adulthood (though I still worry)
My wife is amazing! (God is even better)
Motorcycles, Cognac, guitars, family, and pipes can get you through anything .
Retirement is in sight. (This may be the longest 3 years of my life)
People mean much more than things.

Have a happy new year, all!

 

[pappymac]

When you lose your soulmate of 49 years it is hard to find anything that has happened that is a positive.

Some bittersweet positives:
Our oldest son earned his MBA from LSU just a month before my wife passed.
In October he was hired by Tulane University and started the process of selling his house in Johnson City, TN so he can buy one down here.
The family has survived Thanksgiving and the Christmas season without her.

2024?
Hmmm.
Here’s what I learned.
3rd shift sucks. (Glad it’s over)
I still miss Mom. (It doesn’t get easier)
My 3 boys are doing well transitioning into true adulthood (though I still worry)
My wife is amazing! (God is even better)
Motorcycles, Cognac, guitars, family, and pipes can get you through anything .
Retirement is in sight. (This may be the longest 3 years of my life)
People mean much more than things.

Have a happy new year, all!

Unfortunately I have been told that it never does. That being said, I lost my mother 33 years ago and there have been times where it would be nice to talk to her or my father who I lost 31 years ago.

 

[Sobrbiker]

In my personal space, I’m happy and grateful for all I’ve got and am in a good place.
Outside of things I have direct control over (which is a very small list), we’re going to hell in a handbasket.

 

[Snook]

I'm sorry to see that others had an unfortunate 2024 as well. But like others, I'm glad to be on this forum and to have found something of a community.

For me, some negatives were: realizing that I'm tired of trying to form friendships with people when friendship is never reciprocated; losing motivation and inspiration with writing music and now having no hobby other than reading; changing jobs when I realized that my employer of five years didn't give a shit about me and was never going to give me better opportunities, only to realize that the new opportunity I took is just as bad if not worse; not going out and doing things with my wife that made us feel alive for almost the whole year; realizing that I am deeply unhappy where I live and I find that city life just makes me angry most of the time and makes me strongly dislike people. Oh, and the Sutliff/Mac Baren debacle, too.

Some positives were: I feel that my wife and I experienced exponential growth in our relationship despite having been together for ten years already; I'm thankful for my animals and the joy and peace that they bring to my life; the crappy job that I took at least gave me a good pay raise and we're moving more quickly towards our financial goals; we decided that we're (probably maybe) ready to start trying for a child; we've planned out what we want 2025 to look like and the things we want to do or change and I think it will be a much better year; I went out on some good hikes and experienced lots of nature; despite the above thing about friends, I reconnected with an old one (ironically enough an old girlfriend's brother) and we bonded over our shared love of pipe smoking, of which I had no idea he enjoyed; I'm alive and well and so are my loved ones, and for that I'm eternally grateful.

 

[MisterBadger]

realizing that I am deeply unhappy where I live and I find that city life just makes me angry most of the time and makes me strongly dislike people.

My sympathies. I used to feel exactly the same when my job tied me down to a particular city. Fortunately it took me out into the country quite often and that was, literally, like taking a breath of fresh air. One can have too much of a good thing with people, I find, especially when as in a city, you have no idea who they are or what their values are, and you're all stuffed in close together. In rural areas, you may not like some of the people around but at least you get to know about them and learn how to deal with them. Good luck with the kid, and all the best in 2025!

 

[Snook]

My sympathies. I used to feel exactly the same when my job tied me down to a particular city. Fortunately it took me out into the country quite often and that was, literally, like taking a breath of fresh air. One can have too much of a good thing with people, I find, especially when as in a city, you have no idea who they are or what their values are, and you're all stuffed in close togerther. In rural areas, you may not like some of the people around but at least you get to know about them and learn how to deal with them. Good luck with the kid, and all the best in 2025!

Thank you! I think it will be a great year.

That's certainly true. I'd rather have less people that I know well, even if I don't like some of them, instead of hundreds of people who won't even look you in the eye.

How did you end up escaping city life? Did you retire? I'm diligently trying to find a nationwide remote job. It would be great to be able to move anywhere and not worry about work.

 

[warren]

Yet another year above ground, so, all in all, not a bad year. The down times are certainly not for sharing with acquaintances. The ups? I doubt anyone would find them the least bit interesting from a distance. I hope all of you have a decent and prosperous New Year! Not monetarily of course but, family and health wise. Above all ... don't waste it. Not a minute of it!

 

[sablebrush52]

The bottom for this year was losing my ability to walk.
The good part is gradually regaining my ability to walk.

The rest of the circus is not surprising, which is not surprising.

 

[MisterBadger]

Thank you! I think it will be a great year.

That's certainly true. I'd rather have less people that I know well, even if I don't like some of them, instead of hundreds of people who won't even look you in the eye.

How did you end up escaping city life? Did you retire? I'm diligently trying to find a nationwide remote job. It would be great to be able to move anywhere and not worry about work.

My employer (the UK's National Health Service) had a mammoth reorganisation and gave me the option of either taking a voluntary redundancy package or taking a similar but less satisfactory job in another, even less attractive, city. I took the first option, as I figured out that in my work I'd built up quite a big clientele network among the doctors and pharmacists I used to advise - and since the NHS was no longer going to advise them for free, there was a good chance that many would be prepared to pay for the service - so I set up as a self-employed contractor (the few consultancies that were already in the field, were quite expensive and none of the others had the inside knowledge I did)(I was cheap, and I was good). And since my time was my own, I also joined a nearby community farm as a stakeholder, a few miles outside the city. By luck as much as by good management, after a few years I found myself in a position to be able to retire and as Mrs B had always wanted to move to her ancestral lands on the Welsh borders, we moved from the overcrowded southeast 6 years ago. We are self sufficient in fruit and vegetables, on the edge of a small market town and are loving it. If you can work remotely (or do most of it from home), that's the way to go to gain some independence.

The only paid work I do these days, is writing the occasional book - but if you don't have the talent, persistence, courage and luck of a J K Rowling, that's best regarded as no more than a paying hobby.

I wish you luck.

 

[Snook]

My employer (the UK's National Health Service) had a mammoth reorganisation and gave me the option of either taking a voluntary redundancy package or taking a similar but less satisfactory job in another, even less attractive, city. I took the first option, as I figured out that in my work I'd built up quite a big clientele network among the doctors and pharmacists I used to advise - and since the NHS was no longer going to advise them for free, there was a good chance that many would be prepared to pay for the service - so I set up as a self-employed contractor (the few consultancies that were already in the field, were quite expensive and none of the others had the inside knowledge I did)(I was cheap, and I was good). And since my time was my own, I also joined a nearby community farm as a stakeholder, a few miles outside the city. By luck as much as by good management, after a few years I found myself in a position to be able to retire and as Mrs B had always wanted to move to her ancestral lands on the Welsh borders, we moved from the overcrowded southeast 6 years ago. We are self sufficient in fruit and vegetables, on the edge of a small market town and are loving it. If you can work remotely (or do most of it from home), that's the way to go to gain some independence.

The only paid work I do these days, is writing the occasional book - but if you don't have the talent, persistence, courage and luck of a J K Rowling, that's best regarded as no more than a paying hobby.

I wish you luck.

Amazing. I'm happy that it worked out for you like it did, and that you ended up where you are! You've certainly earned the peace and quiet. The insight is greatly appreciated.

 

[FLDRD]

2024 was a very mixed bag for me and mine.
I went to 3 X as many funerals as I did weddings.
I'm watching as my boys enter adulthood and start to grapple with actions / inactions and their consequences.
My wife and I are actually growing closer with the children gone and more focus on ourselves.
We both (and most of my extended family) feel that this year was an odd year that is best to be done with.
On the positive, I'm financially winning in a manner that is propelling me forward more quickly than ever before.
And that's good, because I've got to figure out how to retire some day...
As my dad always says: "First you get tired, then you get retired." (Bonus- he's 85 and still active and close by.)
I'm just beginning to get tired and seeing the value of slowing down, relaxing, watching the birds, puttering, working in my shop on random projects that may interest me at the moment, etc.
I think it's called ageing. I hope that somewhere in there is the "wisdom" and "gracefully" that we hear of.
Cheers.