Number Crunching to Gain Traction (on 2018)

As the year skids to a close I find my inbox full of friends generously sharing their lists. Even Obama has shared his list of favorite movies and books of 2018. Lists of books, (now I wish I had kept track), lists of trips, lists of deaths (4 small shatterings for me), lists of births, how many candles did we burn on the cake? How many cakes did we eat?

A time for reflection and gathering receipts, I jog my memory by flipping back through date books, logbooks, calendars and am happy to find that I am closing out my 3rd sketchbook for the year, so I feel pretty much on track as far as filling in Spring, Summer and Fall. (I live in Florida so there is no WINTER).

Hibernation Mode at Max's place

In January I make a ritual of checking my inventory- how many paintings did I accomplish last year? How many studio hours did I track? How many art sales was I blessed with? Where did I show my works? And then, it's always good to keep learning... so what new skills can I say I did develop? (letterpress, spray painting, drawing on the road), what new life lens did I assume (hello institutional racisim!).

Then to be financially mature, I have add up those tax deductions and count how many ways i donated to charities. How did my raises balance out between the job and the rent? How many political donations did I accumulate? (yikes!) Might as well make a list of the monthly automatic deductions I have signed up for.
And to be immature: how many followers did I attract? How many blog postings... I had hoped to do better with both.
I count my good health as my top blessing but shouldn't I weigh in my body's loss or gain, my blood pressure, my new cosmetic addictions, and my weekly attempts to exercise? Should I add up the grocery bills, the times we ate out for dinner, my travel expenses and medical procedures?
May I suggest we add to the lists the countless hours I talked to God, the times I smiled and faked it, my handful of new friends and the, not enough, times I sat still?

road trip sketch

The end of this sums up whether I feel like a winner or a loser. But before I go too deep I must be grateful to be alive. Not everybody made it this far, and I am a 2018 lucky winner. I count my lover, my kids, my parents and siblings, and my next few days off and call this a good year after all!