Goodbye 2016

Merry Christmas Y'all! Happy Hannukah, Festivus and Kwanzaa too! It's been a lovely, quiet and mellow holiday so far. I may be Jewish by birth but I have always loved Christmas. Probably because my dad did so much. Every year we had a tree - a big tree - with all the trimmings! My favorite was drizzling the tinsel from the second story on to the tree below. Honestly, I don't even recall having a menorah but we damn well had an impressive tree every year! Apparently the parents of Jewish kids would avoid our house during the holidays so as not to hear another chorus of "why do they get to have a tree and we don't". I will always be glad that it was so!

There's no doubt about it, it's been a tough year. We bleeding hearts have taken quite a blow that will land us straight through the next 4 years; we've lost a lot of good people - artists I respect; and the year has been fraught with growing pains for me - in my life and business. But growing pains are good, how else do we grow? This year has also brought the most wonderful people in my life and there is no downside to that and I remain forever grateful for 2016 in that regard. Don't tell anyone that I stole this quote from the TV show Criminal Minds: "Scars only show us where we've been, they do not dictate where we are going."

Hey - I think I forgot to mention that I got a tattoo this year! It only took me 52 years and some change. It means a lot to me. It's from a silly card pack I have of children's poems and little quips and short pieces with lots of faeries and sleep dust. This one always spoke to me. In past, I believed that one day this could be me. And then one day it was. So I pay homage and wear a reminder of how far I have come in this short amount of time as well as in my life.

So that will just about do it for me today. Happy New Year and peace to us all - everywhere in the coming year.