On a positive note, 2014 closed with some really fantastic moments. I had the great joy of visiting some of my favorite relatives down in Virginia. While I was there I caught up with my cousins, Kyle and Andy, over beers and pingpong. And we even relived some of our childhood memories at the GoKart track. You both really whooped my ass! I also had the pleasure of spending lots of time with my Aunt and Uncle. Vickie - you are such a lovely women. I'm glad we were able to drink coffee together each morning and catch-up on life. There's plenty of snow here in NH these days for a nice ski. See you here soon? Jimmy - your zest for life is contagious. Thanks for being such a joy to be around. I also met the newest relative, Andy's firstborn daughter, Maddy. Even though she was just a little thing (~6 lbs), I could already tell she will have my cousin's "life's a great adventure" attitude. Welcome to the family, Maddy!
Christmas was another joyful time from 2014. My parents flew across the country to spend a few days with me at my house. We had high hopes to XC ski while they were here, but mother nature had another plan...rain, not snow. No worries though, we took the weather in stride and explored the seacoast a little, ate lobster (well Mom ate at least three lobster rolls, and Dad had at least one steamed lobster), and enjoyed each others company.
For Christmas, I decided to invite a few friends that were still in town to enjoy dinner with us. Kristi, Cynthia, and Robert were all available for an afternoon of laughs, games, and food. Dinner included my female goose (Dad had honors of slaughtering her, and Robert and I plucked and cleaned the bird. Thanks for being a good sport, Robert!), local fingerling potatoes and pumpkin, green salad with backyard tomatoes and corn, corn bread stuffing (nicely prepared, Mom!), ambrosia, and cranberry sauce. It was quite the feast...way too much food actually! The dessert, I think, really put the meal over the top; we had raspberry pie made with raspberries I picked this fall in the yard and Robert made an excellent pie crust. Cynthia also contributed with a delicious vanilla custard. It was oooo so good. In the end, Christmas dinner was a lot of work, but it was so nice to be around some of my favorite people.
Something I learned over the holidays is that we should all make an effort to find time to just be with the ones we love. I have found and continue to find so much happiness in those seemingly simple moments.
My New Year's Eve celebration involved dancing, bluegrass, and laughter. Robert, Cynthia and I all decided to go out on the town to ring in the New Year. Before the clock struck midnight we each disclosed our new year's resolutions. Here are mine:
- Stretch every day (I stole this one from Cynthia)
- Make someone else laugh or have my own belly laugh every day.
- Do something for myself at least once a week.
So far I've done fairly well keeping to my resolutions. Stretching has been really helpful in getting rid of some of my pesky neck pains. I still have bouts of stiffness, but stretching (along with awareness of my posture while working) has worked wonders.
Laughter, I've come to realize, is so essential to my own personal happiness. I unknowingly went nearly three years with very little laughter in my life. When you don't share the same sense of humor with your partner it can be a little difficult to chuckle. Therefore as I open this new chapter in my life I am also making an effort to also open the door to laughter. Coincidentally, I just found out today that Robert wants to go with me to a Comedy Show in a week. He didn't even know how much I love laughter right now, but his inclination has (as usual) hit the nail on the head. There's something about this guy.... :)
Doing something for myself once a week is another thing that brings me joy and self awareness. All to often we get wrapped up in the silly day to day tasks - school work, feeding the dog, cooking dinner, laundry - and we overlook our own need for something that nourishes our soul. For me, this includes art (recently crocheting), gardening, dancing, swimming, reading a book, walking through the woods, playing soccer, and even just cuddling with Ito (my now 8 year old pup!). It felt weird at first to make this time for myself, but I'm starting to enjoy it and feel a little bit more like my old self.
As this new year really ramps up I am sincerely looking forward to all the joys I will experience. If I am faced with more trying times, that's okay, I will rise to the occasion yet again and learn from the experience. I'm optimistic this is going to be a great year for me and you!
