My Twenty Twelve: a personal inventory

2012 was a year of change for me.  I’ve never done this before, but I felt the need to do a written end-of-year personal inventory.

The year kicked off with an incredible trip to Switzerland which included a concert performance in Zurich at the Albisgütli Festival.

In June I performed at the CMA Fest on one of the official concert stages with my band Mustang Sally and we also made our debut on WSM 650 AM radio, home of the Grand Ole Opry, that same week.

Mustang Sally with 650 WSM host Bill Cody (L-R) Lisa Romeo, Brenda, Bill Cody, Sarah Wilfong, Tobi Lee)

Mustang Sally at CMA Fest 2012

At the end of summer I said goodbye to life as a road musician. After 10 years of nonstop touring, I decided to put away my suitcase and focus more on life in Nashville. Plus, I was just plain burned out and not enjoying it. I’m not saying I’ll never go on the road again, but it will never be the gone-260-days-a-year-playing-shitholes pace.

Right before my 35th birthday in September, I went through a tough break up. I’m still processing that. Relationships are hard. So is being single.

In October I conquered my fear of skydiving. I kept picturing myself hitting the ground with intense force and breaking into a million pieces. Turns out that the landing was the easiest part.

14,000 feet over Atlanta

Why does my guide get a helmet but not me??

In November I completed my first half marathon with a very respectable 2:07 time. I already have two halves plus a Warrior Dash and a relay race on the books for 2013 and maybe–just maybe!–I’ll gather up the courage and determination to do a full 26.2 marathon.

Me after completing the Hard Rock Half Marathon in Nashville, TN

And lastly, on January 1st I became an official member of the Polar Bear Club by jumping into Nashville’s 49 degree Percy Priest Lake.

Me doing the Polar Bear Plunge with Cristin Brown and Kate Framke (Picture courtesy of The Tennessean)

I will continue to allow the successes, disappointments and struggles of 2012 to be teaching lessons for me.

In Twenty Thirteen I will continue to be true to myself and make every day count!