YEAR END SUMMARY

2022: The Year of Unwinding Joy

Changes and surprises pushed me from my comfort zone

As 2022 draws to a close, I’ve read about what that means to different people. Some talk about what they accomplished this year, and others mention their goals for next year. I thought about 2022 and realized a few memorable things had happened.

1. My fiancé and I moved halfway across the country in 2021, which was quite an adventure. My three kids are all adults, so I could finally leave a miserable job where I’d spent decades in corporate America to become a first responder. My time at the academy carried me back to my time in Boot Camp 30 years prior. I knew I had made the right choice and was home.

2. Two weeks after starting as a rookie, while on the road with my Field Training Instructor, we were in a serious accident that almost ended our lives. Three souls in another car lost their lives that night. I discovered some interesting things as part of my recovery. As a result of that accident, I finally began writing publicly. I stopped waiting.

3. A family emergency brought me back to Iowa in midsummer. Wrapped in the warmth of familiarity and a surprise opportunity to spend time with my family was a treat.

4. I recognized more than ever how kind, generous, and supportive my fellow officers and the entire agency are. As my recovery continued, so did my writing. I made connections on Medium I never dreamed I’d have with fellow writers around the globe.

5. Toward the end of the year, as I edited my memoir, I was reminded of the decades in which I suffered lock jaw and muscles too tight to uncoil throughout my body. I’m finally in a place where I am beginning to relax, and my normal posture no longer includes my hands balled into fists. The clicking and snapping in my jaw rarely occur anymore.

The events of 2022 have forced the real me to step out from the shadows. I look forward to stepping further into the light as time moves on.