I think it is pretty easy to summarize 2018 . . it sucked and it sent the stage for 2019 which is going to suck even worse.
Personally things were fine. We lived, laughed, traveled, had adventures. We end the year as well as we started it - well, except for the addition of a few more pounds than I should have (cue comment from my GP when I visit him next Wednesday).
Professionally things were profoundly busy. In fact so busy that at times it was a struggle to stay connected with the important things in life. So busy that I finally sat down and mapped out my planned retirement date; while I have a lot of fight left in me I also have some life I want to live while I can.
For the world things were pretty awful.
What made this year so awful? One could list many factors, including natural disasters, man-made atrocities, the utter depravity of international political discourse and the loss of Aretha Franklin.
We face a national election in Canada next year and it is already ugly. Canada's Conservatives seem willing to do and say anything to win in 2019, even if it means tearing the country apart; they have embraced the Trump playbook. The next 10 months will be challenging.
Around the world we have seen a return to tribalism. A world where everyone is more focused on what they personally want or need rather than the common god of humanity.
While I'd like to blame this on Trump as well the reality is that this dynamic has been at play for some time. I do believe he has given people free license to give into their inner caveperson. If the leader of the free world (well, some might call him that) can say these things or do these things then anyone can!
The economy was frightening. We had trade wars based upon lies. The stock market went up and then it crashed down. Predictable patterns and projections were tossed asunder (not unlike the unfortunates who got in the way of similar weather patterns).
2018 saw some horrific crimes. We had a white van racing erratically down Yonge Street mowing pedestrians down . . . a gunman shooting innocent bystanders on the Danforth and the highest number of murders in Toronto's history. You try to not let such things affect you but it is impossible to some extent . . . I know I watch my surroundings more carefully than I once did.
One bit of bright light - Cannabis was legalized in Canada this year. The bright light being that the world did not fall apart as many had predicted. Instead we Canadians did what we usually do - soldiered on and accepted these changes in stride.
It is getting harder and harder to accept that the big lump of a country to the south is being lead by an increasingly unstable lunatic who seems more apt to accept the things and criminals of the world as friends and allies over longtime friends. I think the most challenging part of this is that so many of the people who could put a stop to this lunacy just do not do so . . .more concerned about their own grasp on power or feathering their own nests I suppose.
We Canadians seem to have fewer and fewer friends around the world. While we continue to soldier on trying to do the right thing when it comes to combating tribalistic behaviour and hate, fewer leaders and nations are standing with us. And while we may be one of the most admired nations on the planet it is pretty tough to be standing alone against the onslaught.
2019 will be downright ugly. Ugly in a way that could change things forever. I just hope I find the energy to join with other like minded citizens to do the right thing.