36

36 Years old. Wow. What a crazy year. Here are 36 of the moments in my life that impacted me for better or worse this year. 
 
Snowshoeing up by White Pass w/ Jenn, Marti, & Christine, a first time for some. Found a waterfall at the end of a trail.

Watched “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” movie premier in Toppenish. A powerful film that starred a local man. I didn’t know that when I watched it. Watch it if you can.

Exploring Palouse Falls w/ CJ. She’d never been and I’d only been a couple times. Such a cool place to explore.

The Yakima Visitors Center bought many of my postcards to sell in their shop. So cool!

Taking a trip to Dry Falls that ended up being a trip to Keller Ferry w/ friends.

I was privileged to participate in Citizenship Day hosted at YVC. What a great opportunity to be a small part of helping people apply for citizenship!

Travelled to Lincoln City, OR, w/ CJ & Nikki to comb the beach for one of the glass floats that get dropped there by Float Fairies. We didn’t find a float but we did find a glass coin, one of the other items they include in some of the drops. A lot of fun searching and hanging out on the coast. 

I got 2 kitties – Cooper & Tiger Lily. They have been one of the biggest highlights of my year. I’ve never had any pets and will admit to not being a great pet parent, I’m far too accommodating and manipulate-able, but I sure do love those furry critters.

 

I went to the Yakama Nation treaty days pow-wow in Toppenish. So interesting and refreshing to witness these beautiful displays of culture. Very moving.

This is the only place I’ve ever seen whales in the ocean and I’ve seen them both times I’ve been there. If only they’d come in a little closer to shore or do more acrobatics out of the water so I could see them better!

Visited Friday Harbor for the first time. I’d never been to the San Juan Islands and it was a fun trip.

 
Our family campout/get-together was up at Maple Falls, WA, this year, always a special time and place.

My brother Tom, w/ the help of a few of my other brothers, finished our shed. Love it and have it stuffed full of all the things that were in our house taking up space. It has been a necessary and wonderful addition to our property.

Took a day trip to Seattle to meet w/ Bridget to discuss collaborating w/ her to create a presentation to share w/ her classroom at WWU about Indian residential/boarding schools. It was very inspiring and motivating to talk w/ her and hear how she can take the info I have and apply in many ways to the future teachers she works with.  

I did 2 presentations w/ her class on the schools and as much as I hate public speaking of any kind, I really enjoyed being able to share this information w/ people who had never heard about this history. It makes a huge difference to be able to do it over the computer and not in person. Maybe I’ll get there eventually but this way has helped make it bearable for me to do.

I planted several kinds of trees and shrubs at the house around the property and the majority of them didn’t die immediately!! That is a huge win. I detest gardening. I do not like feeling the dirt under my fingers or under my fingernails and wouldn’t have done any if there was no such thing as gloves. Just not my thing. But getting to see them still alive, so far, is exciting. We’ll see if I lost any over the winter once spring gets here. 

 As always, going to see my absolute favorite band, Needtobreathe, is something I look forward to every year. This year they were playing some smaller venues they haven’t played in years and I got to see them in Spokane w/ Nikki & CJ, who had never seen them perform. They killed it, as always. Though, being stuck behind tall people is a perpetual source of frustration in such situations for someone of my height.

My sister, Jenn, coordinated a surprise graduation party for me at Ozeki’s, a local sushi place where they actually make a type of sushi I thoroughly enjoy. I was genuinely surprised and that was a treat. I don’t often allow others to plan celebrations for me as I like to plan them and invite others to join me but it is a special treat when someone puts the time and thought into doing one for me.

Every year for Dad’s birthday our family tries to get together for popcorn and ice cream, 2 of Dad’s favorite treats. It was a last minute thing but several of us got together at our new house to celebrate his birthday. Space was tight since the shed hadn’t been finished yet but it was a special time.

Skagit Valley tulips. I’d never been and always wanted to go see the tulip fields. I made it last year and really enjoyed seeing those rows and rows of tulips for miles and miles. Just beautiful and fun to do. I ended up buying several varieties of tulips to plant at home. I thought I’d get to bring them home then but they mailed them in October for planting. I know very little about such things but I waited, impatiently, and planted them when I got them. They are now poking their leaf tips up. Can’t wait to see them blooming. 

I attempted to buy and use a riding mower. I have a large lawn on all sides of my house that I want mowed. It was a fail. The mower didn’t work properly and I ended up returning it twice to the guy. Mowing that big lawn w/ a push mower is not my idea of fun. Even if I only mowed a section every 3-4 weeks. Yes, I’m sure that was wrong but you come do it if you want to do it more often!! ;) Hopefully I’ll find a good affordable riding mower for this year.

After living my life more or less accepting of my sleepiness/low energy existence, I thought maybe I’d ask a medical professional about it. I did. She referred me to a sleep specialist. We did a night sleep study and a day one. I learned nothing from it except that I don’t have narcolepsy. In general it felt like a waste of time but it was interesting to do. I guess it’s just genetic and I should more fully embrace it. 

In late August I graduated from Kilns College in Bend, OR, w/ my Master’s in Social Justice after 2 years of classes. It has been the most life-changing, challenging, fun, informative, powerful, beautiful experience of my life and life as I had known it will never be the same. 

After graduation I took a few days to soak it all in at Yachats, OR. First time staying there though I’d been to the area before.
In July I invited the family over for a bbq and open house. The shed was up and we filled it up pretty quickly, making space in our house to actually move around a bit and start to get settled. 

I’d never been to a ‘paint nite’ event but when Katrina abandoned us for greener pastures we went to one for her going away party. It was fun. I can see why they have become so popular. 

I was invited to speak to a small group at a friend’s church about human trafficking. It was an honor to be asked and while I feel like I could have done a better job, I think I was able to share some important information on the topic. Awareness and education are key.

It is always fun to go to some of the local holiday craft bazaars w/ Mom in the fall. People are so creative and talented! Well, many of them.

Many of my trips to Spokane include staying w/ my dear friends, Darren & Nikki Peterson and their 4 beautiful girls. It is a joy to visit them and spend time w/ their family.

I was able to go watch one of their daughter’s, Eden perform in her first play, Anne of Green Gables. She was wonderful!! I love that story and getting to watch her act in it was a lot of fun.

On a separate trip, I was able to watch Anna, their oldest daughter, dance in a performance that she helped choreograph. She is a beautiful ballet dancer and it’s incredible to see her dance. Such a treat!

My master’s work that led to my thesis topic has become a large part of my life and is something I hope to pursue even further through whatever means I find. Part of this education included my going to the Hibulb Cultural Center in Tulalip, WA, to hear a residential school survivor speak. I was very glad to be able to take the trip over there for that and to see their museum display on the topic. There is not enough information out there about this history and so I’m more than happy to support any of these events or places that are working to educate people.

This has been a very emotionally challenging year for me, especially in light of my recent degree. Perhaps if I hadn’t been in school and learning about so many areas of injustice that many segments of the world population face on a regular basis, particularly people of color in the USA, I might not have been so affected. Not only did I learn about many of the ways that racism and prejudice are ingrained and part of the very foundation of this country and its government, as well as in much of the religious organizations and denominations, I started to understand more fully how I was contributing to the same structural injustices. Take that, along w/ my faith that teaches me to love my neighbor and my enemy equally, to not only embrace non-violence but non-retaliation, to speak up and speak out against injustice wherever it is found, it has been a hard year. To see a person who espouses much of what Jesus came to speak against and destroy become president and then proceed to make incredibly unjust decisions on a nearly daily basis and be widely supported by many who profess faith in and love for God has been difficult on a new level. If I am continually suffering from emotional and mental whiplash from

every single devastating decision that that man makes, I can only imagine what it must feel like for any of the millions of immigrants, refugees, Muslims, Indigenous people, African Americans, impoverished, and a whole slew of other people groups who have been directly attacked by this administration, its policies, and its supporters. I don’t understand it, I really don’t. I cannot fathom the rationale and justification that I hear in support of him. It is heartbreaking, enraging, depressing, exhausting, maddening, frustrating, and typical, I suppose. Despite all of that, I am grateful to have leaders I have met or had the privilege of learning from primarily from school that are doing incredible work in many different areas that inspire, encourage, and demonstrate ways of confronting these injustices and who continue to speak God’s truth to the world’s power. I have a very very long way to go myself but I have no doubt that the foundation I have been building on is a strong one and while my journey may very well take me into some dark places and bring me into contact with some very real and tangible evil, I am not alone. Never alone even if it often feels like it.

Along those same lines, I was excited to attend the Seattle Women’s March in January. I first heard about a march for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) that was going to happen which I wanted to attend and then I found out it was in partnership w/ the women’s march. The part addressing the MMIW was the beginning of the event and the group involved w/ that led the march to downtown Seattle. It was incredible to be there for that, to hear what they had to say, and to see thousands and thousands of people standing up for, among many issues, the rights and values of Indigenous women. 


We had a wonderful early Thanksgiving celebration at my sister, Amanda’s house and some of our family from Maple Falls was able to join us for that. I think it was the first time that had happened and it was great to see them for the holiday. We normally see them about once a year at our family get-together. 

 I couldn’t have managed our move and everything after without the help of many family members and friends. I have had so much help I feel indebted for years to come. I’m so grateful to be surrounded by people who are often willing and able to help with whatever situation I’m facing. Our home is slowly becoming more and more homey. Small bit by small bit. 

Thanks for caring enough to read along and for joining me on this journey. Curious to see what 37 will bring my way . . . :)