As the new year fast approaches..I usually take this time to reflect on the past year and all it meant to me. 2009 brought me some amazing gifts and some incredible challenges. I hope that I've learned the lessons that they imparted.
In November of 2008 I joined a singles group- Plenty Of fish...Yeah...Yeah..I know..*rolls eyes* but...just that one simple act of lunacy has brought me so much joy, I can't even tell you.
I met my best friend, Mark(thanks for being there...so many times...to remind me that yes...we can be neurotic...but ONLY WITH EACH OTHER..NO ONE ELSE...that way everyone THINKS we're normal!!) I met a Chef with the heart of a poet, who taught me that compassion and passion are not mutually exclusive. I met some very strong, independent women all of whom taught me about the kind of woman that I am trying very hard to be. I learned to take chances and go places and do things...ALONE. Knowing that when I got to wherever it was I was going....I'd have friends waiting for me...even if I just met them. I learned that Mapquest is my friend....and my enemy.
I've learned over this past year that opening your heart to people....and being vulnerable to feelings doesnt make you weak...it makes you stronger. Taking chances isn't foolish(if you're careful about the chances) it's bravery in it's highest form. To look out over the water....and dive in.
If we Never leave our comfort zones...if we stay only in familiar places..among familiar things...we never meet new people..or experience new things. We never will hurt..or know fear..or pain...but we will never know joy, or passion, or maybe...even love.
Sooo on this new year....I am so thankful for all the lessons I've learned...and I look forward to what this next year will bring me. A motorcycle license? a relationship with a man other than the furry one(Boo) that purrs beside me each night? maybe some travel to unfamiliar places? I don't know....but...I'm looking forward to it.
Sometimes...it's all about taking the leap of faith...and building your wings on the way down. ~~~Leaping~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Plans Change.....
When I was growing up I made big plans. My two best friends and I were going to graduate from high school...and immediately jump into a car and head for California. I really can't remember why that became our destination, other than it was just so far away from the refineries and reality of our current lives. OH YEAH, now I remember. I was going to be an actress (yeah..go ahead and laugh..it is hilarious). C was going to become a big,high powered entertainment lawyer, and V was going to marry Erik Estrada. We were going to all be roommates and live in a fabulous apartment and have fabulous lives... uh...yeah.
The reality of life usually interferes with our plans. I ended up marrying young and working at a local bank for the better part of 15 years. C never did go to law school...she was a paralegal for awhile..and now she's a personal trainer. V recently moved back into the area after being away for many years, she was the one that made it all the way through college and got her master's degree. She married a military man and has lived all over the country....she never did make it to California, though.
Sandra had big plans, too. She had planned on working until retirement age...and then retiring and then doing a lot of traveling. A diagnosis of Lymphoma at age 45 and several rounds of chemo derailed those plans. But when the chemo was over...and she was in remission...she re-met her high school sweetheart, they were married. They did some traveling. Lived in Mississippi, and Kentucky, and now Missouri. This time, when the Lymphoma resurfaced, she had a partner to help her in the fight.
M was coming home late one night on his motorcycle...he had an accident, trashed the bike as well as his knee. He was very nearly dead. Strangely enough, that accident was a wake up call. The bike got rebuilt, and so did he. He's healthier now than he's been in years. He even has a new relationship.
We all have plans. Only we can make them come into fruition. But it's important to keep your eyes open to what the fates have in store for you. The hardest paths often have the greatest rewards.
The reality of life usually interferes with our plans. I ended up marrying young and working at a local bank for the better part of 15 years. C never did go to law school...she was a paralegal for awhile..and now she's a personal trainer. V recently moved back into the area after being away for many years, she was the one that made it all the way through college and got her master's degree. She married a military man and has lived all over the country....she never did make it to California, though.
Sandra had big plans, too. She had planned on working until retirement age...and then retiring and then doing a lot of traveling. A diagnosis of Lymphoma at age 45 and several rounds of chemo derailed those plans. But when the chemo was over...and she was in remission...she re-met her high school sweetheart, they were married. They did some traveling. Lived in Mississippi, and Kentucky, and now Missouri. This time, when the Lymphoma resurfaced, she had a partner to help her in the fight.
M was coming home late one night on his motorcycle...he had an accident, trashed the bike as well as his knee. He was very nearly dead. Strangely enough, that accident was a wake up call. The bike got rebuilt, and so did he. He's healthier now than he's been in years. He even has a new relationship.
We all have plans. Only we can make them come into fruition. But it's important to keep your eyes open to what the fates have in store for you. The hardest paths often have the greatest rewards.
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