A Letter to this Year

Dear Year,

With my birthday fast approaching, and 2012 just around the corner, I can finally say what I need to say to you.

I'm sorry to say that I won't be sad to see you go. I don't suppose it's your fault that things went sour, nor is it your fault that we didn't always get along, but you were the vessel for the things that happened, and I'll be glad when it is all just a memory.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be strong, but please—don't do that again.

You played your part very well, challenged me in ways I have never been challenged, broken me down so that I thought I'd never get up again, and yet here I stand. And you are almost gone.

You ate up precious time, time I won't ever get back, so that even though so much has happened and I have been irrevocably changed, I wonder how. How I blinked and ended up here, on the other side. But I forgive you, because I know it really isn't your fault.

I'm sorry for hating you when things got hard, and even though our relationship has been troubled, I can say farewell with an open heart, knowing you brought me something I needed. Something that taught me a lot about myself. You did that.

You brought me the unexpected, surprised me (though I think you need some practice), and took me to the darkest parts of myself (places I am—still—too afraid to explore too closely). You are like a game of Jumanji. So thank you for the adventure.

Now I can move forward with these things—the long, hard months you gave me—under my belt, and know I am stronger for it.

So thank you.

Be nice to the next girl you stumble upon, and please, be gentle.

Sincerely,

A friend