As you are reading this there is a good chance that 2018 is about to end and, for me at least, I couldn’t be happier!

No, that isn’t meant to be read as a new year, new me kind of thing because let’s face it, we are who we are and the growth or digression is only further manifestation of what we are becoming…

The last year is actually somewhat of a whirlwind. I’m not sure if it comes with age but I feel like just a few blinks ago I was writing my 2017-ending column (if you want to call it that).

Anyways, enough build up, let’s chat about the year that was, in sports and life in general…

It’s no secret that I am a huge baseball fan and this year was particularly special for me. You see, the Los Angeles Dodgers, my favorite team in the National League, and the Boston Red Sox, my absolute favorite team, met in the 2018 World Series. And if that wasn’t enough to make me the happiest fan ever, the Red Sox dominated, like they did throughout most of the season, their way to another championship. I told myself that WHEN they won the World Series this year I was finally going to get my Boston “B” logo tattoo and I still need to book that appointment. Thank you to the Red Sox for the ups and few downs provided throughout the marathon of a season and please do it again in 2019!

Also in the world of sports, and I will touch on a lot of this very briefly as it doesn’t pertain to baseball, the Cleveland Browns finally won a football game. They have now won a few in fact and have quite possibly shocked gridiron fans across the country. Baker Mayfield is exactly what that franchise needed and I sincerely hope that they do right by them as he continues to, hopefully, right the ship up in the 216. In other Cleveland sporting news, the Cavaliers are once again no good and that comes without surprise as “The King” up and took his talents to Hollywood. That being said, the Lakers aren’t too bad, right? I honestly couldn’t tell you…the divide in the National Basketball Association has become too much for me to tolerate and I’ll occassionally watch a game but, it just doesn’t do it for me anymore.

Anyways, teams are still playing hockey, other teams are still playing football and there are probably a million other different sports that I don’t really follow or know anything about that are still going on but, we will leave those alone for sake of me sounding lost.

Let’s get down to the personal, that is, if it is okay with you…?

The year started with me in a much different place than where I’m at now and that’s okay. I had a great girlfriend that I really did care about and I screwed that all up. I can admit to that with no internal quarrels. I can not tell you enough how sorry I am about everything but thank you for everything, sincerely. The amount of change and realization that you provided me is something that I am truly grateful and thankful for and I apologize for turning out to be everything that I said that I wasn’t…unfortunately, that’s a common theme of mine and I swear, I’m going to nix that bad habit.

Some other big things that happened on a personal level in 2018 were as follows: giving up the consumption of meat, starting (finally) my Clinger’s Clip Notes column, my children moving back to Ohio from Illinois, getting my own apartment and feeling somewhat domesticated and that’s just to name a few things!

I gave up meat towards the end of January and I can honestly say that I don’t ever plan on eating it again. Yes, I am getting enough protein and all of the other concerns that uninformed individuals may have. There are plenty of alternatives out there for purchase or making that help to lead to a healthier, cruelty-free lifestyle. Ask me about it sometime and I’ll give you the rundown. It helps to be open-minded, which is something else that I learned to do more so in the last calender year.

If you haven’t been reading my couponing column, I suppose that’s fine but please start doing so! I am just trying to help everyone out with saving some money and possibly getting some back. Feel free to ask me about that sometime as well and if you want, we can go on a shopping trip together! Just a heads up though, I like to sing and dance in the aisle when I snag myself a good deal…you’ve been warned!

As for the kids being back, nothing brought me more joy, and simultaneously brought about more change in the last 365 than that! If you know what I’m talking about, cool, but if not, I am not going into the painful yet relieving (?) details here. I love you Dylan and Quinn and daddy is so excited that you’re now just a few blocks away!

Anyways, I could go on and on all day about life, change and growth but I have limited space and it’s better in person. The passion for what I do, including spreading myself too thin in order to feel “ahead” in life, is still there and I am looking forward to thriving in the new year. Some friends and myself are hopefully going to come together real soon to work on a “musical” project that will finally afford me the opportunity to get some of my demons and their opposition out…I know, I’m excited too!