End-of-year Babbling from the Addiverse

It's New Year's Eve. Another year in the books. Lots of fabulous things transpired over the past 364 days. Lots of fun, laughing, good food, laughing, road trips, laughing, triumphs of various nature, laughing... you get the idea. I hope you enjoyed 2018. If you did, keep that good thing going. If you didn't, write a new story. If it was a mixed bag, embrace it-after all, life usually ends up being a mixed bag. I celebrate you. I celebrate the wife. I celebrate me! May 2019 bring you much joy, health and love. I hope it brings you good food, good friends, good fun and much time spent with dogs.
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I went on vacation with two lovely ladies last week. I daresay fun was had by all. Two dogs & three people on a quick jaunt down the West Coast in a Jeep. Since we live in three different States, we made plans to meet at the San Francisco airport and work our way to Los Angeles.

Now, I want you to picture the two traveling companions. What do you "see?" Imagine? Assume? Hmmmm. I'm gay, so my traveling companions must be gay.... right? We met in San Francisco. That's SUPER-gay, right? We're in a friggin' Jeep. These fun ladies are arm-in-arm in most photos. They are with me, the "known gay," they are wearing baseball caps and look mighty sporty. They must be a couple.... right?

For the record, they are straight. We met in San Francisco because it was the most sensible meeting place for the start of our vacation endeavors. It never dawned on me that people would assume I was traveling with two gay women. Even dear friends--gay AND straight--immediately assumed that I was traveling with two gay women. My traveling companions were assumed to be gay by various people viewing the photos, hearing the stories and/or seeing me in the mix. Guilt by association, they call it. Thankfully, they don't give a rat's ass what anyone thinks.

For the new year, I encourage all of us to challenge our assumptions. Eradicate "guilt by association." Embrace friends, as they are friends. I embrace you, no matter "what" you are. Feel free to embrace me, too. Just let me know you're coming in for a hug so you don't scare the shit out of me.
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I confess: I ate gluten during my end-of-year vacation. I'm such a rebel. When I received results of my lab work in mid-December, I was bitter than my "numbers" had worsened instead of improved despite years of being gluten free. Those numbers made it tough to keep the gluten-free thing going. I thought of drowning myself in a gluten-smothered pity party, but the wife reminded me that I feel better when I'm gluten-free. She's right--I experience very few headaches and my knees don't hurt anymore.

That said, when those delicious, freshly-made, still-warm-directly-out-of-the oven balls of gluten crossed my path on vacation, I decided to say yes. Gluten be damned, I was gonna eat that cinnamon roll. It's not like the world would stop turning or giant vats of poop would come shitting out my ass. I said yes and held that warm, oozing dough of love in my hands. I inhaled the most delectable fragrance. I stared lovingly at the dripping pile of cream cheese frosting. I am here to tell you that this freshly-baked ball of goo was BY FAR the most delicious cinnamon roll I have ever consumed. It was a religious experience. I aim to be gluten-free in 2019 but I've decided that if something that amazing crosses my path, I will most likely say "yes" once again.

Life is short. Eat the gluten.
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As for the actual vacation, I daresay many people found my decision to go 2000 miles to hang out with two women I've met in person only once or twice to be a weird, even questionable, decision. I didn't think it weird at all. Thanks to social media, electronic means of communication and a passion for our dogs, we know each other quite well. Perhaps we are kindred spirits. Perhaps we're just sophomoric weirdos with the same likes in life, a sense of adventure of a similar nature. No matter. I enjoy their willingness to talk about bodily functions, ability to laugh at themselves, spirit to do things that brings life to the daily grind and shamelessness to profess love for their rescued dogs. Thankfully, the wife finds us to be harmless middle-aged women with a passion for ridiculousness. (Yes, the wife was invited into joining the road trip but she politely declined. Chicken.)

Our vacation adventures involved spreading the ashes of a beloved brother on Christmas Day night. (I am guessing no one else reading this can make that claim.) This pre-planned event made total sense to us. It was important, symbolic, cathartic. I was truly honored to be invited as part of this sacred event. I'm sure the guy working on the wharf thought we were three crazed women dangling over the railing for no particular or rational reason as part of Christmas happenings. What was envisioned didn't quite transpire, as the guy on the wharf approached us just as we were about to distribute the ashes into the ocean--he told us to move along as he was closing the wharf for the night. All we could do was laugh, seal the container and move down the wharf as to not get locked in.

We laughed about this for the remainder of the trip. I daresay her brother was laughing at us the entire time. Thankfully, we we were able to stop laughing long enough to ensure the brother's ashes were spread on Christmas Day night.
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Another year in the books. Another year ready for adventures. (I can't believe it's 2019. Wasn't it just 1980?) Dare to dream. Dare to ask. Dare to take action. Dare to live.

May your focus on the good, find the good, be the good.  Happy New Year from the Addiverse.    :-)