What troubles have plagued you this year? What joys have you experienced?

Y’all being so shy! I’ll get us kicked off.

I’ve had a pretty good year all things considered. One of my biggest bothers in 2017 was the feeling of inadequacy that I was feeling at work, but I got that sorted out late in the year by switching jobs. This year, I’ve been really enjoying this new feeling of confidence and competence at work.

A highlight of my year was flying out to see my best friend, who recently moved to Colorado to get her Ph. D. I’d never been to CO before and I really enjoyed it. The scenery, hiking, birding, and company were all wonderful on that trip. I also got to meet my friend’s girlfriend for the first time, and she is lovely. It’s so good to know that my friend is in a good relationship.

I’ve had some troubles this year, but nothing I would consider extreme. My biggest issue was with having to undergo a med change, which was a long and arduous process involving many steps and setbacks, spanning nearly the entire year.

Basically, early this year my GI alerted me to the fact that the appetite stimulant I’ve been on for seven years is apparently a serotonin inhibitor, so it can cause or worsen depression symptoms. I’d had no idea. So we decided I should quit that med, but weaning off of it took months and months; we kept having to slow down because I had so many strange and frightening withdrawal effects while I was reducing my dosage. And then once I was off of it completely, my appetite dwindled to nothing and it became clear I needed to get onto a different med to replace it. The appetite stimulant that my GI prefers is also psychoactive, so I had to find a psychiatrist to prescribe it and oversee the transition. Just finding a psychiatrist who takes my insurance was a 3 month battle, and in the meantime I lost a bunch of weight. It was rough. But! About a month ago, I finally was able to see a psychiatrist and get the Rx, and the new med is working great for me so far. I am able to enjoy food again and I’m putting the weight back on slowly. So I feel hopeful that this issue may be resolved now.

Troubles: Mom’s cancer/ health. Husbands job/ income.

Joys: Mom’s alive and well. Husband found a new FT job he likes.

My biggest joys have always been reading & my pets, it’s how I de-stress.

Family issues are ongoing and not something I want to share.

It hasn’t been particularly joyful year for me but I guess the greatest ones have been my trips out West – to California, the San Juan Islands and the national parks. and my continued and growing involvement in my Unitarian congregation, including being on a sanctuary committee to support a local immigrant right’s group.

Health issues plagued me at the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, but have sorted themselves out.
The upside of the year is I have a good job and love the people I work with.

My job and my workplace and my colleagues have changed so much that I have started to dislike it.
It’s not unbearable though (yet).
I’m happy to be with my sweet girlfriend, of ten years this year, and when we are together I’m (feeling) at my best, and I live like a god in France, in Greece, during these periods.
Plus, I’m healthy.

Just can’t share my biggest troubles even with jellies but it would be a bit interesting of a subject if I did. Maybe someday.

As for the lesser troubles. It’s the usual I guess. Money issues, parents’ health and age —-same with mine, siblings need help but just don’t have the means to give aid etc.

Joys. Glass half-full. Because things could still be much worse but not now, hopefully never. Hope. You can just apply it to almost any sort of trouble out there enough to get through the day and the next…and the next…( coffee helps too )

@mazingerz88 Can you imagine if we had a one day event where nothing we said or posted could be held against us in future debates/ arguments? I bet it would be interesting!!

^^You’ll make lots of money if you come up with algorithm guaranteeing that kind of privacy a hundred years after people pass away.

My sister died from cancer in March. My mother died in August from being dropped in the nursing home. My husband was in and out of the hospital all summer due to a congenital heart defect. The good news is that my kitty with kidney disease is still going strong and that i am still up right and breathing.

Our struggles- Ongoing serious mental health issues for my youngest son as well as for myself. Our only car lost its life. My husband ended up in the emergency room the weekend we moved to Wisconsin with bruised ribs from overdoing it during our move. He missed several days of work at his new job. Our son is struggling at his new school trying to adjust after a year of home school.

Our joys- We moved to our dream state of Wisconsin. We live in the center of Madison within walking distance of live music, restaurants and everything else we need. We love it here. We are so over rural life. We don’t have to travel 3 hours one way to get help for our son. Our son has finally made some friends at his new school. He still feels lonely but he at least has friends to sit with at lunch and talk to. We also finally have a new car. We’re in debt but my husband has a great job for once. Things are slowly looking up for us but it still isn’t easy, especially for our son.

Short answer: Joy: my comic. Struggle: my comic.

Long answer:

63 pages of rough pencil drafts. Four chapters completed and two more awaiting. I started writing at Christmas of 2017. It’s going to be a year anniversary of my comic soon. I had always wanted to do something with art. But to be honest, I started my comic on a whim. I had been organizing a private drawing class for myself several months before and that day was supposed to be another day of my class. But I just wanted to see how things would turn out in a real environment. So I got a big paper and tried it out. From that day I knew there was no turning back.

This isn’t just some fun scribbling like I did for my friends for kicks anymore. This is serious business. My comic has been a source of great joy and pain to me. This is the first time I have made something to be put in public, so I have tons of worries whether it will go well. I constantly asked “what am I doing? Is it worth my time? Is it even a real job?” But at the same time, seeing my comic evolve over time brings joy to me. I never thought my comic would ever evolve. Lots of things from the original script were changed to appeal to logic and art value. My style changed over time. I had so much high and low working on the comic and I’m sure this will continue to be the situation next year.

At this point, I would appreciate anyone who offer me help. It could simply be looking at it and telling me everything will be ok. I just need some hope. I think I’m lucky to have a few people who agree to look at it. This is the kind of people I will remember for my entire life.

I still grieve for the family I wish I had had, a few years after estrangement.
But finding out I am wleigible for Medicare even though I worked off-the-books for most of my employed life really eases the stress of financial concerns over medical insurance, as long as it doesn’t get gutted.

@Mimishu1995 Nice, I’m doing a comicbook as well. Have an artist draw it for me. : )

Started the year believing I had ovarian cancer.
I started off afraid of death. That quickly passed, and I realized I had an out from all the pain. I settled into knowing I had a relative expiration date, and looked forward to it. When my surgeon joyfully announced the cancer was a false diagnosis, and that I would live, I dampened his joy by grimly accepting the news with mental images of facing years of uncontrolled pain.
My regular doctor eventually took my condition seriously. She is now working with me on finding a combination of medications that will help me live a functional life as low in pain as we can find.
The antidepressant she had me on was wayyyy wrong for me.
While tests for stiff person syndrome were inconclusive, she gained knowledge of what that is, how my symptoms mirror the condition exactly, so she is now approaching treatment with a better understanding. I have a whole Walgreen’s aisle of stuff to take every day, but already I am feeling less bone crushing ferocity in my spasms and pain.

My daughter has completely disowned me. It is a situation made somewhat difficult for her as her school is making requirements which force her to ask me for help. HA!

Over time we have permanently lost some much loved jellies. There are two who are gone who stay in my heart, and I don’t think I will ever get over the loss.

On the joy side, I won’t say who, because I haven’t asked permission to share, I expect to soon meet a jelly in person. I am so excited.

I am not yet published. That falls on my indecision about what route to take with each story.
Currently I am working on a story about a group of people who find themselves suddenly in the Jurassic. With no survival skills, they fumble through how to stay alive.
Spoiler, they find some interesting unknown facts about the period, including t Rex. Too bad they would never be able to take what they learn back to the 21st century.

I am looking forward to having a future again. Hopefully, my pain will be managed well enough to enjoy at least some of my life in the coming years.