auld lang syne

it's another year. i'm not overly sentimental with the passing of the years, though i do enjoy the lists of songs and news highlights of the past year.

this year is the changing of a decade. due to my relatively young age, there aren't man decades that i can truly remember. usually, people talk about holding a job for 25 years or being married for 40 years and it's either more or my life, or enough of it that i was just a child at the beginning of their time span. but i'm starting to outgrow that. 10 years ago, i was half way through college. i was dating the man i would marry. i was an adult 10 years ago.

i know that the older you get, the faster the years fly by. i am constantly trying to make the most of each moment, day, year, so that i don't wake up 20 years from now and wonder where it all went.

so, let's summarize:
between 2000 and 2010, i:
-became engaged
-got married
-graduated college
-moved to florida (which held amazing experiences, which i won't recap here)
-jared and i both lost our final grandparent
-i lost an uncle and jared lost an aunt
-my brother adopted his youngest daughter from vietnam
-jared's sister had 2 children
-we moved to nashville, bought our first house
-we had alena (again, so much that goes along with this)
-jared found a career and job that he truly enjoys, takes pride in, and pays well.
-i experienced loneliness for the first time in my life.
-i've chased my dreams, working with weddings and brides and even having my own booth at a bridal show. i've had great jobs working at NASA and in the coprorate event industry in nashville.
-i've chased my dreams, taking a cut in income that's beyond our comfort zone, to leave my career and focus on raising a baby the way i want to.
-i have been blessed with little side jobs (not little, they involve watching other people's babies while they work!) in order to make the ends meet without having to put alena in day care.
-i have grown spiritually in ways that i can recognize and name, but too many to list here.
-i have gone out of my way to connect with my family and learn about my ancestors
-i have fought many inner struggles about how to live life; what a true Christian lifestyle looks like not just what an american church member's lifestyle looks like.

in just the past year, i:
-lost about 15 pounds. my original goal is to lose 20-25 pounds. i'm pretty proud of that.
-planted a garden for the first time in my life. oh, the life lessons that come from working with the ground and growing your own food.
-made a decision to leave a congregation..and not due to moving across the country. this was a long, difficult decision, but i believe the right one.
-spent a year watching my daughter grow and learn.
-lost a dear, dear friend and learned grace from her daughters as they handled it with truly a peace that passes my understanding.
-met the newborn baby of my best friend and was awed by her natural talent of motherhood.
-took my first cruise and deepened great friendships. visited places i had never been before and learned about another culture.

in this coming year, i plan to:
-make time to visit friends scattered around the country.
-lose that last 5-10 pounds..and then tone up!
-turn 30.
-continue to safeguard my marriage. jared and i have always looked at our relationship and wondered if others were as happy as we are. i hope to keep that giddiness in our marriage.
-regain my self-confidence. i used to have it until this loneliness set in..time to blow off the cobwebs and be confident and alive again!
-visit the hometown of my ancestors on my mother's side. my family comes from glenville, WV and i've never been there.
-spend another year watching my little girl grow and learn. these first few years are precious and passing quickly.
-this year my daughter will be potty trained, moved into a "big girl" bed and completely give up that paci!
-learn more about gardening and have a better garden that will yield more foods for our family to eat.
-welcome babies of friends into the world....and welcome a great-niece! (that means my parents are going to be great-grandparents..and my brother and sis-in-law grandparents!!)
-continue being financially disciplined. we may even beef up our savings and pay off some debt this year!
-continuous improvements..to my spiritual life, my physical body, my learning mind, to my family connections and to my friendships. to my house, to my yard and to my attitude.

each year has so many things to offer. even in the sad occasions, it offers an opportunity to grow closer to others and find personal strength. may 2010 be a wonderful year and may we all be able to recognize the blessings, beauty and teaching moments that it holds.

peace.