The year in review

Out with the old and in with the new. Good riddance 2019!

Oh, sure, there were probably just as many good times as bad. I pretty much remember 2019 though as the year I ran a sucky Indy Mini and Fort4Fitness marathon, I still work a shit job, we left another church, and my dad was put in a nursing home.

Anyway, first I will attempt to list the books I read this year, followed by a month-by-month breakdown of some highlights I remember (I know I am missing some concerts and definitely movies though, as well as trips back home).

BOOKS I READ IN 2019 (minus a couple I think I forgot):

• Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence by Greg Boyd
• North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail by Scott Jurek
• Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions by Johann Hari
• Loves Immensity: Mystics on the Endless Life by Scott Cairns
• Practicing the Way of Jesus: Life Together in the Kingdom of Love by Mark Scandrette
• John For Everyone (pt. 1 & 2) by N.T. Wright
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzaro

January -

• We had the first measurable snowfall on 1/9
• Bought my first pair of Brooks (Ghost 11) running shoes

February -

• We hosted the first indoor 5k at my workplace
• I stopped taking antidepressants (Zoloft/Sertraline)
• The board fiasco at the former church 

March -

• I had a bout with gout (hurts like the dickens!) 

April -

• I was finally asked to pray during a Sunday morning service
• Tincaps season started (4th), which means I started parking cars in the church lot for games
• We took a short 2 1/2-day trip to Madeira Beach, FL
• The first mowing of the year was the 17th
• I had my evaluation at work (23rd)
• I started being the "checker" at work

May - 

• I ran the Indy Mini half marathon - 1:59 but it was a near-downpour the entire 13.1 miles
• We both ran the Vineyard Trail 5k
• We saw Buckethead at the Clyde
• We got the eGYM system at work
• I got a new phone (iphone 8)
• I somewhat unexpectedly sold the motorcycle
• I planted our first raised garden (tomatoes, peppers, carrots and radishes)

June -

• I was asked to join the Preaching Team at our former church (never did preach there)
• I shave my beard (from October or November of 2018)
• I bought my first pair of 'toe socks' for running, and finally seem to have solved my blister problem 

July -

• We took a family vacation to the Galena Territory (both kids, their spouses, grand kids, and my parents)
• We worked the Carl Verheyen (Supertramp) and Albert Lee show at C2G
• I took several training courses online through the Y

August -

• I wrote about a class I'd like to lead: Stillness Practice
• The new park (Promenade Park) opened in Fort Wayne
• Jane was diagnosed with a wheat allergy
• The Feipels moved to their new home just outside Fort Wayne
• All three grand kids started full-time school
• We got a washer and dryer at work (to be able to wash our own towels)

September -

• My cousin Linda passed away
• We got a sound bar for our TV in the basement
• We worked the Eric Gales concert at C2G
• We stopped attending church at C2G (I think our last Sunday there was 9/1)
• I ran my 2nd marathon - it was a total disaster... my worst run ever/or my best

October -

• Jane had an endoscopy done and discovered she has a hiatal hernia
• The Feipels got a dog
• We saw Lyle Lovett at the Clyde
• I put a new faucet in my bathroom sink

November -

• Jane and her brother Mark flew to Colorado to see their brother Keith
• We started a new study with the Datemas (Godspeed)
• Isaac and Ricci were able to join us for Thanksgiving

December -

• I finally had my umbilical hernia repaired (12/3) and was off work for a week
• My blood pressure went sky high and I changed from Lisinopril to Ziac
• I did the Health Screening at the Y
• Dad was put in the hospital just before Christmas with pneumonia and anemia
• Dad was transferred from the hospital to a nursing home the day after Christmas
• Everyone came here for Christmas, then we all went to Buda along with my sister, her one son Kevin, and her dog (the two of us slept in Mark's Sheffield house; everyone else was at my parent's)

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So, there it is. Pretty much. I wish I'd have kept better track of the concerts and other events - even the number of trips back to Buda. Oh well. Such is life. And this is what it looked like in 2019.