End-of-the-year recaps are tough. On one hand, it's easy to post a bunch of statistics like:
2 marathons run, including my first and a PR of 3:56
5 half-marathons, including a PR of 1:45
Countless shorter races, including some age group awards and two 3rd place overall awards in a 5K and a 10K
3, 368 miles run
46 books read, 17, 609 pages in total
1 book written (Courage Must Be Taught) and $ 4, 524.33 in total royalties
I'm lucky to be healthy, sheltered, and alive. On the other hand, behind those numbers, there's also a lot of disappointment. While not injured, I'm struggling to level out my very unbalanced running style and get stronger and faster so I can stay healthy as a master's runner, and I'm considering dropping out or dropping down to the half in my upcoming April marathon. This December, I've been getting slower, not faster.
I spent far too much time in 2024 scrolling social media, feeling depressed and jealous, rather than reading. Last year I read 100 books and read 27,368 pages; this year I didn't make my goal of 50.
I not only failed in my evergreen goal to increase profits made from my books, but I currently am feeling very despondent about realizing my dream of getting my series to a wider audience. Because of financial issues, I've been on an extended break from riding, and my current WIP focuses on the non-horse world. It will be a fun, contemporary novel, however, that I DO think will be funny and interesting to my core readership, so please at least consider checking it out. I just don't think there's the wider audience for Simon that I always hoped, sadly, much as I love the enthusiasm of people who adore him and read my work. (Something for which I'm forever grateful.) I may go back to him, but for now we're "on a break."
Many people I know lost loved ones, had loved ones experience major tragedies, underwent surgery, lost beloved pets, and lost jobs this year. There have been days this year when I was only hanging on, emotionally, but I am very much aware things could be far worse and I'm more hopeful than I was at the beginning of this month. I was forced to take on a bunch of rather thankless jobs to keep the lights on but I also know that a bad year for me is someone else's greatest year.
And for some people, this was their greatest year, because of births, new jobs, new pets, new moves, and new opportunities.
I still need to set SMART goals for 2025, other than vague stuff like "get stronger" or "be more positive." Although I do need to do both.
God knows I could use a windfall of luck, but there are others who deserve it far more than myself, such as my friends dealing with chronic pain, caregiving, life-threatening illnesses and other unbearable stressors. Just like we look back and forth like the Roman god Janus every New Year's Day, as artificial as time can be, there's always someone behind us and in front of us and all we can do is try to move forward, even though some of us are more limited than others.
If you've read this far, please know that I sincerely wish everyone the best in 2025.
Unless you're the type of person who says, "well, at least you wrote a book, that's more than most people do," to someone who has written 16 and is struggling, or "at least you're lapping someone on the couch," to someone who is slogging out the last mile of a race. Then you're on your own, luck-wise!
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