Letter to November

Dear November 2012,

I'd like to start by thanking you for the month that allowed me to celebrate 34 years on the planet, the month that gave us the opportunity to elect leaders who choose to stand on the right side of history, the month that started with Madonna's technical difficulties in St. Louis, the month where I got to close Magic Kingdom at 3am complete with an eagle soaring over Main Street (ok, maybe not an eagle, but it was still awesome.  Right, Fabricio??) after running a great race that morning in the bitter Florida cold (who knew the swamps could be so frigid??), the month that gave us super sexy moustaches everywhere you look in recognition of Movember, the month that Downton Abbey and the dowager countess entered my life, and the month that actually produced a good Twilight film.

But mostly I'd like to thank you for being over.

You're also the month that gave me disappointment at work, stressful family worries, a Hurricane in my fair city, a physical therapy appointment that told me no running for a couple of months due to a bum knee, a cold that would not go away, incredibly dry skin and chapped lips, a leaky bathroom (again), and some agita in my love life.  You haven't been the kindest to me, and for that I choose to take the lessons learned but slam the door as I leave you behind.

Thank you, oh month of thankfulness (which I was graciously reminded of every day via all forms of social media), for piling it all into 30 days tough days.  Thanks for showing me just how amazing the people in my life are -- from the tips on where to get Reese's Trees and silly (yet "worried") pictures I received from the Midwest, to the Honey Boo Boo Buzzfeed articles, the offering of a good old-fashioned Hamlisch if needed, and the unexpected words of wisdom in the mailroom.  And thanks for the loss of appetite that led to weight loss having me down a pants size, but conversely the same above the waist thus creating that wonderful stressy carb baby I hate so passionately.

December will be my comeback, and I'll look back at you and laugh (or at least sigh in relief that you're over).  One of my dearest recommended a book (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller) for me to read.  I plowed through in the midst of your lack of love.  Oddly enough, it sorta mimicked my month as I read it.  The parts I want to share are a marriage of "thank you" and "screw you," November 2012.

"Once you live a good story, you get a taste for a kind of meaning in life, and you can't go back to being normal; you can't go back to meaningless scenes stitched together by the forgettable thread of wasted time."

And this one...

"You didn't think joy could change a person, did you?  Joy is what you feel when the conflict is over.  But it's conflict that changes a person."

I am changed by these conflicts you've slammed together into 4 long weeks.  But maybe I needed a little change in my life... this time on the inside.

Your frenemy,
Joy.