Monday, December 31, 2018

HaPpY HaPpY NeW nEw ...

Time for a list (or two):

First.
Looking back:

Top Ten Things From 2018 That I'm Thankful For:

1. Answered prayer. In late January I prayed a very specific prayer. And ten minutes later my phone rang. Haha. I got my very specific answer. I am living at my mom's house by God's design, for His purpose. There is a goodly amount of peace knowing that I'm where I'm supposed to be. So. I'm thankful for: He who makes things clear. This house that I share with my mom and Max. Memories of my dad, who built this house and would be so very happy to see it filled with people he loved.

2. The house at the lake. Also built by my dad. I'm here now, writing this from there. The furnace packed it in on Saturday, so it's been getting progressively colder as the year drew to a close. I don't mind the cold. I can always add layers. (For that matter, I don't mind excessive heat, either. I can remove layers.) (I'm adaptable that way.) I am grateful for the time I get to spend here, either by myself, or with my kids, or with my friends. SO many memories. This is home. (Even if it is about 10 degrees in here.)

3. My first two items were about buildings. Houses. Places to live. I am SO very thankful that this need (for housing) is a praise item, not an urgent request. So many women around the world do not have this luxury of having a roof, walls, clean water. I know I'm one of the lucky ones. I am forever grateful that I was born in Canada.

4. My kids. God knew exactly what type of children I'd need in order to be stretched and challenged and pushed to try harder. One of them recently asked, "What are you doing, mom, to continue to grow and learn? Are you being intentional about new experiences?" Oy. I'm thankful for all of them. They are my heart.


5. This was The Year of Funerals. Eight of them. Each one was a unique, as it should be. I learned something about the people who've passed, but also about the ones they loved. We are who we are because of the lives our parents lived. Their choices, their passions, their quirks, their stories, their heritage, their way of doing family ... all of these things are make 'us'. We either embrace it all. Or we reject it all, but either way - their lives were important and had meaning. We are living proof.

6. Sunny days. I get 25 days off per year. My gift to myself in 2018 was to spend those days sleeping in then soaking up the sun. One day at a time. I'd take random days off ("it's gonna be 25 degrees on Tuesday, July 14... think I'll go to Kit's beach..." etc) as well as two impromptu long weekends in Palm Dessert with Julie. SO thankful for sunshine and blue skies and warm air and oceans and lakes and rivers and pools and folding chairs and good books and the peace that happens in my soul when my skin turns brown.



7. Teeeeth. I sacrificed travel adventures for three front teeth in 2018. It was a long, painful, arduous project. But after months of temporary caps and repeated appointments (yes, a person can use of most of her accumulated sick hours on dentist appointments), they finally were cemented in place just in time for this summer's wedding season. I am thankful for a dentist who just didn't quit until he was happy with The Smile.









8. Evening walks. I am so thankful for the 3 - 5 nights a week I walk with my camera and a friend. I am rich. So very rich with experiences and with relationships. I live in the most beautiful corner of the world and I have the very best friends. My instagram account has ended up being my online Walking Journal of sorts. Memories of conversations made during colourful sunsets beside some body of water ... These are my top nine insta-posts in 2018:


9. Books/writers, movies/actors, music/musicians, photographs/photographers, art/artists, the entertainment industry ... All of these things/people make me think, smile, cry, wonder, wish, dream ... I am grateful for their talent, their skill, their contributions to my life.

10. I am thankful for this life. Thank you, God.




Top Ten Things on my To Do List for 2019:

1. Use the elevator 50% less often this year.
2. Blog once a week.
3. Send birthday and sympathy and Christmas cards within a month of actual event.
4. Get two more teeth done.
5. Read a book a week.
6. Sign up for the Thinking? class at Northview in January.
7. Join/buy/get Spotify. Have more music moments. Make a few playlists.
8. Say thank you more often. To real people. And to people who write the books I read, make the music I listen to, work on the shows I watch, preach the sermons I am impacted by, to the people I work with, live with, walk with, late-night-chat with ...
9. Be brave about the court case in January.
10. Keep track of these things, so that on Dec 31, 2019, I can comment on which were my favorite/the best/the most...





Happy New Year, friends.
Blessings and love, xo

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