A year full of blessings
On December 26th I took a trip to San Diego to see my sister's son. Also my sister and my brother, and, naturally, my brother-in-law. I hadn't seen Mason since he was born eighteen months ago. An enormous number of things have changed in my life since then. Re-reading the entries I wrote then, I scarcely feel like the same person.
It is traditional, at the start of a new year, to review the past and consider the future, and I suppose that's just what I've been doing.
My whole life, but particularly 2008, has been unbelievably blessed. Just. Unbelievable. I was accepted into the graduate program I most wanted, I got to spend a two month vacation in Ecuador with family I enjoy, I began work (ie, graduate school) that I find completely fulfilling and engaging and meaningful, I am living in a gorgeous house that I would not be able to afford in normal circumstances, and, just as the year came to a close, I was offered a TA position. My relationship with my husband is fantastic, and it always amazes me how functional we are. Our ability to communicate openly about our feelings and our passions is (I begin to realize) rare and truly special. We challenge each other and we have a hell of a lot of fun together. I also have an amazing support system in the form of a friendship that even a fifteen hour time difference cannot shake, and family that is helping me follow my dream materially and emotionally. As I suspected when I first left for college about seven years ago, my family provides me with excellent grounding and stability as long as I don't have to switch between their houses. :)
(As a sidenote, I was talking about life philosophies with my husband today, and I think I pretty much got mine from Mom. Mostly it involves very low expectations of the world and very high expectations of oneself. This could help explain why I feel so incredibly lucky re: my whole life, but this year I was lucky beyond any normal person's expectations.)
For 2009, I definitely have some areas to work on, but there are two in particular that I think will be most challenging (and most important):
I am very very happy.
It is traditional, at the start of a new year, to review the past and consider the future, and I suppose that's just what I've been doing.
My whole life, but particularly 2008, has been unbelievably blessed. Just. Unbelievable. I was accepted into the graduate program I most wanted, I got to spend a two month vacation in Ecuador with family I enjoy, I began work (ie, graduate school) that I find completely fulfilling and engaging and meaningful, I am living in a gorgeous house that I would not be able to afford in normal circumstances, and, just as the year came to a close, I was offered a TA position. My relationship with my husband is fantastic, and it always amazes me how functional we are. Our ability to communicate openly about our feelings and our passions is (I begin to realize) rare and truly special. We challenge each other and we have a hell of a lot of fun together. I also have an amazing support system in the form of a friendship that even a fifteen hour time difference cannot shake, and family that is helping me follow my dream materially and emotionally. As I suspected when I first left for college about seven years ago, my family provides me with excellent grounding and stability as long as I don't have to switch between their houses. :)
(As a sidenote, I was talking about life philosophies with my husband today, and I think I pretty much got mine from Mom. Mostly it involves very low expectations of the world and very high expectations of oneself. This could help explain why I feel so incredibly lucky re: my whole life, but this year I was lucky beyond any normal person's expectations.)
For 2009, I definitely have some areas to work on, but there are two in particular that I think will be most challenging (and most important):
- regular exercise
- organizing (ie, actually beginning) my research
- forming relationships with colleagues/peers (I need to budget more money for coffeeshops)
- meditating regularly
I am very very happy.