The Christianville Spirit
The Spirit that Keeps Learning with Hope and Resilience
December 28th, 2018-TCS # 620
Well, My Readers, PTLS Family Members, and Friends, It looks like We have come to The End of Another Year here at The Christianville Spirit and What a Year it was. Wow! What a Year! Ya Know, Sometimes, when I choose a Tagline for The Year, I try to stick to a Theme that kinda goes with a The Tagline of The Year. Often Times, in January, I really focus on and By The Times, Mid-Year comes around, I have forgotten about Making Sure that My Newsletters carry a bit of The Theme. This Year, It was not My Newsletters that kept with The Theme, It was My Personal Life This Year. I would be Lying if I said, This Year was Great! Now, Yes, I know Every Year has It’s up and downs. Low Points makes You appreciate The High Points. I will Laugh at Myself where were a Few Years ago, like (Laughing) “Remember when XYZ was happening and I felt This Way!”. So Did This Year, as much it did not turn out like I Planned, fit The Theme? Yes! In Times, A lot of Times actually, We had to Keep Learning. Life without Learning is Boring! Even in The Most Craziest of Times This Year, Yes, We were Hopeful. and, In The Against All Odds Times, Dang Gum It... We were Resilient. This Year’s Tagline by The Way was “The Spirit that Keeps Learning with Hope and Resilience” and It was actually Credited to Three People. Funny Thing, These were Most Influential People of This Year. The Tagline is Credited to My Neighbour, Patty (I call her “Miss Patty”) and PTLS Family Members, Sally Morgan and Karen Crane. So, As I explained at The Beginning of The Year when It came to This Year’s Goals. That according to My Friend, Gypsy January that You have to Set Your Goals with Your Heart and That is What I did. Because This Year did not turn out like I planned or Actually, This Year threw me for a Loop, We’ll put it that Way. It was not Possible to Accomplish My Goals. I will explain.
So, Here are My 2018 Heart’s Goals!
- I know I have Mentioned This Many Years in a Row But, I want True Love. A Revised Version of “Meeting The Woman of My Dreams”. It is somewhat The Same Thing but, Still. I want that Laughing at Something really Mundane kind of Love; Lay Underneath The Christmas Tree together, like Laying on The Grass looking at The Stars, with only The Christmas Lights at Night kind of Love; Singing to Our Favorite Song kind of Love; and, The Kind of Heart that will Love You No Matter what You look like or What You are doing kind of Love (Okay. So, Not This Year. I guess It was not Time. This Year was for Learning)
- A Goal that is in The Process, Finishing The Laser Hair Removal Treatments! I can’t wait until The Final Zap and I can shout “Mission Accomplished!”(Due to Reasons on both, the Person who does It as well as Myself. We could not do this)
- This Goal I have talked to Lynee’s Mom, Dona about. I think It is Time to meet Lynee’s Brother. After All, I have already met Lynee’s Sister, Jona; Mom, Dona; and, Dad, John, but have yet to meet Lynee’s Brother. (Wow! This One give Me Chills! I totally forgot about This Goal! Due to Craziness of The Year in Both Families, We could not do This!)
- This One I feel is Personal, as if All the Others aren’t. Before PTLS Member Relation and Great Friend, Faith passed away I wanted her to teach me to Paddle Board. I know it seems Silly and It is Harder than It looks, I am told. However, I never made it out to North Georgia to Learn how to do it, I probably wanted to do it to Impress Her a Little bit and I knew that It was Her Favorite Thing to do. I would believe that Faith, herself, would still want me to at least try it. (Oh Man! Another Really Good Goal! This One and The Last One I just mentioned will be Moved to Next Year)
- I do want My Mom and My Brother to find The Love of Their Lives too! And, for My Brother to become successful in What He Loves to Do because My Brother, Michael is worth it and deserves it! And, My Mom, She’s worth it and deserves it too! To My Friend, Scott Lerew, Where’s that Campaign You were going to start?! (Nope, Not This Year. Perhaps, Next Year)
- And, Finally in The PTLS Front. I have really wanted to make it to Italy. I have waited for a PTLS Family Members to have us there for a Long Time. It is sort of a Dream Trip, just like going to Sweden was. Plus, Why Not?! It gives me an Excuse to See Italy and Some of Our Family’s Heritage. There are Other Parts of The World that I would love to see as well. (Okay. So, This One was partly Done. I was sponsored to Sweden and Spain for a Second Time. I am Very Blessed! But, Did not make it to Italy)
Now, Yes, I know that I may sound Negative when Reflecting about This Year. Now, Just Because Crazy Stuff happened this Year does not mean that Good Things did not come out of It. It may sound Crazy but, Sometimes, The Best Things can come out of Not-So-Great Things. So, with that said, I can not wait until 2019. But, Before 2019 comes and We watch The Ball drop, Let’s Re-Live 2018 via what I call “Christian’s Year-In-Review 2018”, My self-produced Year-In-Review.
So, without Further a due, Let’s get started!
So, like all Years We start in January. So, as You can tell, This Year was Crazy and Therefore, I do have to Share some of The Crazy Things as well as Good Things. From January 14th to January 23rd, We had a Leak of Hot Water underneath The Slab of The House. You could actually feel The Warmth of The Water if You walked in Certain Parts of The House. Good Thing, It was Really Cold so you could feel The Difference. We had The Pipes rerouted and We found Leak and A Repair Guy fixed It. In PTLS News, We did something different with The PTLS Shirt Launch, It was Either the Traditional or Custom “Team PTLSers” Shirts.
Before I start with The News, I try as Hard as I can to avoid any Upsetting Political Stories, but For The Sake of History and My Year-In-Review, I feel I must mention them. If I feel that It may Upset (or Trigger) Someone, I will say, Political Story Alert! So, Let me say this first. Let Me Make it VERY Clear that Us here at The Christianville Spirit and In Integrity of This Newsletter, **The Christianville Spirit is and Forever will be Non-Politically Aligned with any Candidate or Leader.** In the News, On January 13th, There was a False Missile Alert in Hawaii. It sent People in a Panic and It was only a False Alert, Someone tripped the button. Also, On January 27th, Paris’ Seine River flooded.
In February, A Sad Moment, on February 26th, Former Neighbours, Shelagh and Fernando expatted to Merida, Mexico. A Personal Accomplishment was made on February 9th and February 25th respectively, I got up at 5 AM to watch The Opening Ceremony and Closing Ceremony of The Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Live. I find it better to Watch Live without The Commentary or Editing. In The News, There was an Earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico on February 17th, It was a Really Bad Earthquake from What I remember. Also, Not that I am into Sports but, The Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl 52 for The First Time on February 4th.
Now, March (Marzo) Was a Good Month! Not only was it PTLS Awareness Month. It was a Big Birthday for Grandma Honey, Her 80th and She got to Meet her Great-Grandson, Jace (Honorable Mention: He was born on February 1st) It was actually The 6th Generation that Grandma Honey saw. I also dealt The Slime Craze (Refer to “My Three Biggest Triggers” Newsletter). On March (Marzo) 7th, My Brother made me a Frame of The Original PTLS Shirt. I call it “The PTLS Relic Shirt”. It was intended for Christmas. But, I got it the Day before PTLS Awareness Day! It was Sent at The Perfect Time! In The News, A Pedestrian Bridge collapsed near Florida International University in Miami on March (Marzo) 15th. They did a “Stress Test” during Rush Hour which caused it to Fall. Also, World Famous Physicist, Stephen Hawking passed Away March (Marzo) 13th.
Now, We come to a Difficult and Crazy Month for Us, April. Literally 2 Weeks after We got Home from Grandma Honey’s 80th Party, She ended up in The Hospital in Mid-April. Therefore, We had to Drive to Atlanta for a Family Emergency. Now, I realize that It could have been Something and It could have been Nothing. I really Thank God that It was Somewhat-Nothing. I Mean, It was not Something Important like Heart, Lungs, You Know, The Important Stuff. No, It was because A Very Low Level of Potassium which in It’s own Crazy Way, is Important. Too Low of It and It can Kill You. Yes, I said that, It can Kill You! So, it goes without saying, No Matter what Your Age, Take your Potassium! And, Don’t be Afraid to Check your Levels every once and while! Now, It would not be My Mom’s Dad (Popi’s) Humor that This Family Emergency would happen on The 10th Anniversary of Popi passing away on April 17th, I referred to it as “Lighthouse Day”. In The News, There was a Shooting at YouTube Headquarters on April 3rd. Political Story Alert! On April 27th, There was Meeting between The Leaders of North and South Korea. Something that has not happened in 50 Years due to The Korean War. The Meeting was to basically End the Korean War, at least in Their Eyes.
In May, It was the 10th Lynee Remembrance Day (or LRD as I call it) on May 22nd. I really wanted to meet with Lynee’s Mom at that time but, It did not happen. A Sign did show up a Couple Days after with Day Lillys showing up in Our Backyard, near a Tree that My Mom refers to as the “Life Tree”. In Other News, PTLS Family Member, Maggie got married on May 25th. We got to watch it on Facebook Live. In The News, Political Story Alert! There was a Shooting at a High School in Santa Fe, Texas on May 17th. In Positive News though, on May 18th The UK’s Prince Harry married Television Star, Commoner, and an American, Meghan Markle. It really was a Historic Sight to see. It is something that Never has been done before.
In June, Due to Our Car being on The Verge of Breaking Down in Late June, We took Our Car up to Mr. Jeff to get it fixed, unfortunately There was Too Much to Fix. The Investment of Keeping It (It was named “Trinity”) vs. Buying a New Car, We just decided a get a New Car. It is pretty much the same car but, a Small Version of It. My Mom settled on naming it, MACC Trinity. In The News, Sad News of Chef and TV Host of Several Shows on The Travel Channel as well as One on CNN, Anthony Bourdain passed away on June 8th. Political Story Alert! US President Donald Trump and The Leader of North Korea met in Singapore for a Summit Meeting on June 12th. Something that in Historical Context has not happened in a Very Long Time. A US President meeting with The Leader of North Korea!
July was One of Those Months of This Year that did not go right at all. After The New Car Mentioned at The End of June, going into July, Our Refrigerator Broke Down therefore causing us to have to get a New One. On Top of That, Towards The End of July, Our Air Conditioning also broke down and We basically had to have The Whole Unit replaced. It is much stronger and bigger now versus Our Old Unit. But, Still, Both events caused Great Stress on Me. Good News though, My Friend, Gypsy January moved to Her Soul Place of Oregon on July 20th. In a Way, It was a Silver Lining to watch her accomplish her Dream. In The News, There was Record-Breaking Heat here in Dallas. Upwards of 11o Degrees F. Thank God that Our A/C did not go out during that time, It went out a Week after. Also, There was a Soccer Team in Thailand that got rescued after being stuck in Cave for 16 Days on July 10th.
August, In My Crazy Year, was Definitely a Highlight for Me. Over The Week of My 31st Birthday, We were Sponsored (meaning PTLS Family Members invited and paid for us get there) to go to Stockholm, Sweden for a PTLS Business Trip and Conference on The Road. I got to spend My Birthday in Another Country. Although, We were only flying through, We did stop in Iceland, The 8th Country that I have been to. Refer to “My 31st Birthday in Sweden” for More Details. In The News, Legendary Singer, Aretha Franklin passed away on August 16th.That was Sad! She was a Brilliant Singer! Also, A Bridge in Genao, Italia (Italy) collapsed on August 14th.
September was kind of a Quiet Month with The Exception of an Ice Cream outing with Our Neighbours on September 3rd and The 10th Anniversary of Our Dog, Sophie passing away on September 24th. Something I refer to as “Sophie Memorial Day”. In The News, Hurricane Florence hit The Coast of North Carolina and Portions of South Carolina as a Category 2 on September 14th. It could have been so much worse! They actually projected that It was going to hit as a Category 4 or 5 but, At The Last Minute, It turned to a Category 2, although It caused really bad Flooding along The Coast of North Carolina. Also, In Natural Disasters, There was 7.5 Magnitude Earthquake that hit off The Coast of Indonesia on September 28th.
October was another Point where I was blessed and honored to be Sponsored to go Spain for The Second Time for Another PTLS Conference on The Road. I referred to it as PTLS En España II in Mid-October. Also, In October was My Brother, Michael’s 30th Birthday! My Mom went up to Denver to go see Him. Because it was Right after going to Spain, I stayed Home and Watched The Dogs. It was actually the first time that I watched the dog along with Paco. In The News, Hurricane Michael (Yes, Really!) hit the Panhandle of Florida as a Category 5 Hurricane on October 10th. I know that It was a Serious Event, but, The Storm hit a Couple Weeks before My Brother’s 30th Birthday. Now, Come On, What are coincidences of That?! Also, In The News, Political Story Alert! The United States Supreme Court got another Justice! Justice Brett Kavenaugh. Yes, I know! This will be a Trigger but, In Historical Context, This has to be included.
In November was The First Year that “Christian’s Best Friends’ Festival” had a New Honoree Day. The New Honoree Day was called “McKenna-Faith Day” honoring My PTLS Lil’ Sis, McKenna as well as PTLS Family Relation and Angel Cabinet Member, Faith Thompson. On November 18th, I put My Now-Famous “Overhead Wonderland Project” of Christmas Lights. I figured that with My Crazy Year, that I deserved to get a Little Creative with My Christmas Lights Display. In The News, There was a Shooting at a Bar in Thousand Oak, California on November 7th. Also, There was a 7.0 Magnitude Earthquake in Alaska on November 30th.
And, Finally We reached The Last Month of The Year, December. Now, I will save you and Not Write about Negative News Events because I feel that You do not deserve that as Your Year Ending. I will tell you that I ended The Year with having some Much Needed Quality Time with My Brother for Christmas. I would be lying if I said that It is not The Same without Him, even though He lives in Colorado and He is only a Phone Call or Skype Call away, It still is not The Same. Plus, My Brother came Home for Christmas which Made My Christmas Brighter. And, To Top that, I joined My Neighbours, Miss Patty and Mr. Marshall and spread Christmas Cheer Caroling to Our Fellow Neighbours! Talk about Christmas Magic right there! All in all, It may have been a Crazy Year, Okay Year, Good Year, or even Great Year. It was Year of Learning and Yes, even Growth. I did Grow This Year, I will admit. It was a Year of Hope and A Year of Resilience. But, I genuinely hope that You, My Readers, had a Good Year and Hope for an Even Better Year Next Year. As My Neighbours will say, It gets Better and Better! And, I can’t wait to see you back here for Another Year of Hopeful, Resilient, and Thought-Provoking, Heart Warming and Inspirational Newsletters to come in 2019!
(For the Last Time in 2018)
Thanks for Reading The Christianville Spirit. Be Hopeful and Be Resilient!
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