Things I Learned in 2016

~ America made a colossal mistake on November 8. 

~ Even in the windy, pouring down rain, I can run the Broad Street Run ever so slowly.

~ Smartwool socks are everything. 

~  Half of the effort with running really is mental.  (My brain must remember this as I train for a 15K in April and the Broad Street in May) 

~ In my imaginary world, I can sing "I'm Here" exactly like Cynthia Erivo in The Color Purple. 

~ I like Instagram much more than Facebook.

~ Amy Shumer's The Girl With the Lower Back Tattoo is a feminist treatise in her comedic voice - brilliant! 

~ Officiating at my niece's gorgeous wedding in July shows me just how incredibly brave she and her husband are.

~ Parenting and marriage confound me most every day.  

~  Being a concert goer continues to be one of my greatest pleasures.

~  Music connects us regardless of how we are wired or how old the wiring is.

~  Hearing Chance the Rapper (and the thousands attending Made In America in Philly) sing Blessings filled me up.  "Are you ready for your blessings?"

~  I miss Bill Cunningham's well curated photos for On the Street. 

~ Crock pot liners are my best dinner clean up friends. 

~  I will become a Grand Aunt in 2017. 

~ Turning 60 felt like turning 30 i.e. I hated the thought of it until I had to try it on. 

~ I can almost keep the tempo singing "Satisfied" from the Hamilton soundtrack.  Next up is the Lafayette rap in "Guns and Ships" at 6.3 words per second - yikes!  

~ Using the words "rap" and "I" in the same thought makes me chuckle.

~  I sing in my car a lot.

~ Strange and unexpected sum up my favorite book club selection and subsequent discussion this year - Drew Magary's The Hike.

Quotable from 2016

"This future you live in . . . would I like it?” “Honestly, it’s probably not that different from the world you know. Some people are happy. Some people are angry. There are wars. I don’t know if time makes much of a difference. The world changes, but people act the way people always do.”  ~ Drew Magary The Hike

"And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams." ~ Hillary Clinton, 11/9/16

"Got my eyes, though they don't see as far now.  They see more 'bout how things really are now." ~ Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell, Allee Willis The Color Purple 

Thank you for reading this blog - 2016 was a sporadic year for posting, so if you are looking at this, your kind attention is even more appreciated.  Here's to what 2017 has in store. May it be gentle and satisfying.