Happy 2012! Hope y'all had a great holiday with you and yours. Am hanging out in Westminster with Aunt D, Uncle T, Cousin J, and the in-laws, and we're watching the Nebraska game (it's not going well). J's parents and brother drove in from Mullen yesterday, and it's so great to be back in Denver with everyone.
Christmas for me was, well, the usual. Yes, I ended up standing in a suburban Los Angeles strip mall parking lot with other Chinese people waiting for dim sum on Christmas morning. The day was tense and awkward, what with my sister and half-sisters in town. Hell, the whole trip was tense and awkward--my anxiety level hit a new high. Let's just say that I'm so happy to be celebrating Christmas in Nebraska next year.
The irony is that my mom and I are getting along better than we ever have, as nutty and histrionic as she is. We understand each other now, and my mom actually said to me yesterday, "You've grown up." She sounded happy and rather satisfied about that. Honestly, I never thought I'd hear those words come out of her mouth. If it were just my mom and dad and me, things would be great and holidays more enjoyable. But life didn't turn out that way, and that's neither here nor there.
Since returning from LA, I've been able to catch up with several old and dear friends who were in town and then spent New Year's Eve Day at a large gathering of J's extended family hosted by Grandma D. Grandma D was the most lucid I'd ever seen her and it was a good time, but what really made my day was Skyping with J for three hours in the evening. It was the best way I could have closed out 2011--obviously, it wasn't quite the same as last year, when J and I went out to dinner and watched fireworks from his apartment in Germany, but at least we were able to spend New Year's Eve "together," which was all I really wanted. And then I went to bed well before midnight, refreshed and ready for church the next morning.
It amazes me how my life today is so vastly different from what it was one year ago. Back in January 2011, I lived in the District, hung out a lot with my Hill friends and lovely roommates, ran 25 to 30 miles per week, worked for the federal government, and thought I'd be in DC for awhile. I was six months into my relationship with J and though we had begun to make plans for the distant future, my daily existence hadn't changed much from that of the previous year. On this second day of 2012, I find myself living on my own in Denver, a military spouse and the proud co-owner of fifteen heifers. I attend church every Sunday and genuinely look forward to it. I take a lot of long walks. I love being with family. I'm less jaded and more vulnerable. I truly understand that every minute of every day is a blessing and I take nothing for granted. The latter months of 2011 were pretty rough, but adversity has made me stronger and has brought with it many good things. And though much of my life is still up in the air, I am hopeful as to what the new year will bring.
And with that, here are my goals for 2012--
1. Read more books.
2. Practice a positive attitude at all times. No complaining.
3. Spend only on necessities.
4. Read the Bible daily.
5. Learn to knit.
6. Do yoga daily.
7. Spend even more time outdoors.
8. Learn to sew (better).
9. Practice piano and violin regularly.
10. Live life joyfully. Live a life overflowing with energy, creativity, and happiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment