Out with the old... In with the new...

New Year's Baby...

My very good friends, the H's, invited me to be part of their New Year celebration this year. It was a great evening filled with a lot of fun, laughter, and of course loads of luscious munchies.

 Party Central.... 

(Can you tell the difference between the photo on the left and the right? Which one is the correct one?)

Instead of New Year's resolutions, which I hardly ever keep, I thought I'd list a few of my hopes for the coming year..

I hope this year is filled with blessings for all those around me.

I hope that as new things come around the corner we will all be courageous enough to go after them.

I hope those who are burdened with illness will be healed and those that grieve comforted.

I hope Peace On Earth, Goodwill Toward Men will truly come to be. 

I hope my family members remain close to one another. 

I hope my friendships will strengthen and grow.

I hope my family and friends will be granted the gift of good health.

I hope my students will try their best and learn.

I hope I might be a blessing to others, instead of a burden.

I hope that I will live a healthful and healthy life. 

I hope I will follow good advice, ignore bad advice, and know the difference between the two.

I hope I will end the year a better person than I began it. 

I will end my entry today, the way I did last year...

May your blessings be more numerous than your trials, and may your trials turn out to be blessings in disguise. 

Happy 2012!

Contemplation...

On this last day of 2011, I've been doing some thinking and a bit of reminiscing...

A friend asked me awhile back if I was happy living where I am. I answered that I was content. After thinking about it, I don't know that content was the right word.

I enjoy the association with coworkers and friends that I never would have known without this experience. I am grateful for all that living and working here has brought me over the past decade and a half.  But as I thought back over that word - content - I realized there are different meanings that can be drawn simply by it's context.  It dawned on me that merely being content isn't good enough if it keeps one stuck in a rut, tied firmly and inextricably to the status quo. I guess maybe I should have said that I am not unhappy with my life as it currently is.

Still, like anyone, I do not know what the future holds in store for me. Perhaps what it holds is more of the same - staying where I am and continuing on. But, if what is on the horizon is something different, something new, then I hope that I am never just willing to settle for something I know simply because it is comfortable or familiar rather than taking a risk on something that is better for me.

I hope I have the courage to go wherever I am meant to go and do whatever I am meant to do.

Thinking back, it feels some days that I have lived a lot of my life playing things safe, willing to sit on the sidelines, blending into the background.  I'm not sure that's much of a way to live life. And - while that doesn't mean I'll be taking up bungee jumping or sky-diving anytime soon - it does mean that perhaps I need to be willing to go out on a limb more... Maybe the time has come to stop "sitting and puttering"... 

Here's to a 2012 filled with all the wonders a new year can hold...