2009: A Year in Review

The Good
-Buying a house
-Taking advantage of the 8k first time homeowner’s credit
-Being rehired at my current job
-Getting an offer on my Grandpa’s house 2 days after it was put on the market
-Getting my black belt
-Getting Lacey
-Family reunion in Gatlinburg
-Fixing up my kitchen and closets
-Aja’s wedding
-Spending fall break in Nebraska with Grandmommie
-Seeing all my cousins (on my dad’s side) for the first time in years
-Having a good friend that lives 5 minutes away
-3 healthy babies born to family and close friends

The Bad
-The only bad thing I can think of is that Grandmommie died in November of this year. There were so many good things that surround that situation though…she hadn’t been sick, I got to spend time with her a few weeks before, and I got to see all my cousins at the funeral.

I guess when I lay it out this way, 2009 was more of an up year for me. I still cannot believe how quickly the years are going. I tell my kids that it’s true that they go faster when they get older, even though I never believed that when I was younger.

I have two main “resolution” type plans for next year. The first is exercise more. I’ve been running recently, but it’s so hard for me to stay with it consistently. Hopefully this will change once I get back to school. I’m doing a 5k tomorrow, and the goal is to complete it and do the best I can. I have plans set to do another one in April, with hopes that I can run significantly more than I can now.
The second is to appreciate and trust “the process.” I tend to be one that wants to jump to the end of things quickly, and will focus more on the end result than on how I got there. I’ve realized that, unfortunately, I appreciate things more if they’re more difficult (such as taking forever to get my black belt). Instead of being frustrated that things aren’t going as quickly as I’d like, I want to remember that the means is just as important as the end.

Happy New Year! Here’s hoping that 2010 is a great year!

(Note: This post was written on Dec. 31, but I never got around to publishing it. It’s been backdated.)