What worked last year, what didn't?

Follow me on my real estate blog... The Second Story 

From my iphone in Alameda...San Francisco during the holidays.

I ask myself these questions each year. It makes me think about the previous year, whether I want to or not! Maybe you'll come up with your own answers...maybe you'll share them with me!

Looking back to 2017

What's your biggest personal accomplishment? Discovering that I've got too many places to hide my stuff. Have space...will fill. I'm over it! Under beds, in closets that don't get used these days, in drawers that don't get used these days. TMS. Too much stuff. 

What brought this on? I needed to get ready for Christmas. I pulled out the stuff. Then I went to put it away...and realized I needed to give a huge amount away or donate it or throw most of it out, because nobody wants it...including me. argh! 

Who collects silver baubles? Spoons? Small bells that fit on shelves? All of it needs polishing. Somebody else can have the 'stuff.' 

What's the coolest thing I've seen? When I'm riding my bike along the beach/shore and watching the planes leaving/arriving at SFO or Oakland at night. It's so quiet and I watch the aircraft do a line dance in the skies. No sound and I can see them maybe 50 miles out.

Where was your quietest moment? On my bike at night, riding out along the bay to some friends house and coming back home. It was cold, clear, and magical. 

What was the most fun you've had? Going to a Warriors basketball game with Evan, Erin, Cadel, and Claire! Bummer that they lost the game..but they had 7 straight wins prior to that loss. 

Who was the most inspirational to you? Anybody who was putting her/his cellphone away...and actually speaking with somebody...face to face. Not interrupting themselves to shoot a selfie or to respond to a text or a tweet. Just an exchange of ideas. No blaming. Just wanting to know who, what, where, why, when, how? Ask more questions. Then just shut up and listen.  

What has been the biggest challenge for you? Teaching Sunday School to 4th graders. Finding ideas they can grasp and make their own. A real challenge. Dear Lord, please calm my thoughts. 

What's the best movie you've seen? I haven't been to any theatre in the last year. But I've streamed movies on TV. Nothing stands out to me. 

What's the biggest disappointment you've faced? Having two dear friends (sisters) pass on within weeks of each other. I was with one of them when she passed.

What is one of your predictions for the coming year? I hope to watch the American public exercise their right to vote, on any level (local, state, national), and take back our country. And getting rid of, legally, those who think they know what's best for us 'peons'. 

This time of our lives...is critical. We need to re-learn how to speak calmly, with solid reasoning. Actually, we need to listen. 

Live richly, marilyn