2016 has been a strange year.
We’ve all seen what’s been going on. Probably the most glaring thing is that we’ve been losing our legends: Muhammed Ali, David Bowie, Arnold Palmer, Alan Rickman, Alan Thicke, Prince… Friggin’ Prince! The list goes on and on; so many iconic legends in all walks of life that we’re all in agreement that it’s just weird.
Add onto that some heightened racial tension, an extremely bizarre election, the Atlanta Braves moving out of downtown Atlanta, the loss of the Haunted Pillar and Chuck Williams is no longer on Augusta radio.
2016 can suck it.
Well, it now seems that 2016 is trying to go out with a bang. Just this week, I hear that a coworker’s home burned down to the ground. She very nearly didn’t make it out alive. Big kudos and many thanks to the first responders that saved her life.
The next day, my boss’s dryer caught on fire which, had they been asleep, could have turned out just as bad or worse. The next day I wake up to the news of a Martinez 16-year-old shooting and killing his sister in what was meant to be a full-family massacre. Later that day, I hear that a good friend of mine may be losing his father.
And, no exaggeration, I literally just got a text from my wife as I’m tying this that a transformer blew at her place of employment and is now on fire just above her department.
What. The. Hell.
That last little bit completely changes the whole point of this column. My original idea was to write about my moodiness lately. Chalk it up to the holidays or whatever, but I’ve been a little short-tempered about mild inconveniences. No. 2 wants to leave school early after he finishes his exams. We forgot to pick up a meat tray for No. 4’s school Christmas party. No. 3 forgot some shoes at home so I had to drive them to her school.
Actually, that last one is legit. She goes to school in Grovetown and driving in Grovetown is enough to make anyone crazy. Can you please widen a road? Please? Maybe around all of the massive neighborhood developments? Perhaps the road that the two ginormous schools are on? Just saying.
Anyway, these inconveniences are nothing compared to what the people I mentioned before are going through. My home is intact, I have the means to give my kids a pretty cool Christmas, a job that I can run late to because I’m running around for my kids and I’ll get to see my parents this Christmas.
My original point was that I don’t have it that bad and it’s weird that we sometimes need to be reminded of that. However, my wife’s text showed me just how quickly things can change. One moment you’re feverishly typing up a column because you’re late for your deadline — again. The next, you’re staring at your phone anticipating your wife’s safety. Which, by the way, she let me know that she is safe.
Don’t sweat the small stuff. It can always be worse. Keep those who have had a tougher than usual year in your thoughts. Maybe call, send a text, a prayer and some good vibes their way. We never know when we’ll be the ones that need those prayers.
However your 2016 has been, I wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas.
