Chapters 2011-2020

When 2018 concluded and 2019 began, a feeling of hope and positivity came over me. It was the kind of feeling you get when you're reading a great book and can't wait to find out what happens next. Whatever it is, you know it's going to be good. I remember thinking what a great year 2019 was going to be, and, for the most part, it was. I mean, every year has its ups and downs, but I'll remember 2019 for being heavy on the ups.

There was, however, one significant change I was about to experience that I found out about in October 2019 that would go into effect in January 2020. It was one of those things that I sometimes thought to myself, "What if all of this ended. What would be next and how would I carry on?" Yet, at the same time, I didn't think it would end.

Plot twist! In late 2019, we found out our beloved Daily Challenge would soon be coming to an end.

As the page turned on a new year, I was left with the complete opposite feeling at the beginning of 2020 than I had at the beginning of 2019. I felt lost, depressed, and confused. It became a grieving process, not unlike the way I felt almost 10 years earlier when it was becoming clear that Stephanie would leave this world soon and when she finally did pass.

It's often said that when you feel like that, it's a sign of how much something or someone meant to you. That is precisely why I've chosen to dedicate this year's year-end blog post to my friends who I met (or haven't yet met) on the Daily Challenge, or as it came to be known, DC.

It was early April, 2011 when a friend told me about a website that was giving daily challenges. He shared one particular challenge with me, which was to list five things that you're grateful for. It was a meaningful challenge because we had been sharing daily gratitude with each other for a while.

Curious as a cat, I looked up this website and immediately signed up for the Daily Challenge by MeYouHealth. I was still grieving for Stephanie and recovering from my very challenging final year of teaching before retiring on disability. I liked the idea of completing one small challenge each day to improve my well-being. As I tend to be a mostly private person, the social aspect of it was not even something I considered in the beginning. I didn't care if I missed a day, or in Daily Challenge jargon, "broke my streak". (I can hear a collective sigh from my DC friends now.)

Oddly enough, over time, the challenges on the Daily Challenge became the least significant part of this platform, and I believe most members would agree. It became a community of people I, the introvert, suddenly felt comfortable opening up to. It was my safe place. My happy place. I could pour my heart, or choose not to. Either way, people would love and accept me just the same. Over the years, those people became some of my nearest and dearest friends. I've had the pleasure of meeting some of them in person, while others I feel like I've met. There are some who live within driving distance of me and others who live in other parts of the world. But the physical distance has never mattered.

In fact, my DC friend who became my perpetual pact partner lives in Bulgaria. We've never met in person, nor have we ever talked on the phone. Yet, we have an undeniable bond that can only be described as a once in a lifetime kind of friendship. Having the same first initials, our partnership on the Daily Challenge became known as "M&M Pacts". While our DC pacts are no more, the true pactnership of our friendship lives on.

And this is why I am now at the point where I know I'll be okay. Actually, no. I AM okay. It was a process, a grieving process, but I came to realize that while the platform has ended, I am taking with me friendships that will last a lifetime. One of my good friends, who I met on DC and soon after in person, and I are in the process of building a new platform, one that some have already described as better than our beloved DC. We have created ways to maintain the spirit of DC as much as possible, and with updated technology, we have options that we didn't have on the Daily Challenge platform.

I am also looking forward to doing more crafting and blogging this year. I will soon be getting a new desk that will not only give me a better place to to do my crafting, but the new setup will also create more space in the room. Creating more space - I like the sound of that.

DC served its purpose well for me for 8+ years, but I am finally realizing there is more to be experienced and it is indeed time to move on. As January 2020 comes to a close and February will soon begin, I am once again filled with hope and enthusiasm for the year ahead.

A rainless rainbow seen on January 25, 2020