All That And More

I don't know how it happens, but another year has slipped, skipped, skidded, screamed, scrambled and slid by. How do you sum up your year? How do you weigh the joys against the sorrows? How do you find the grace and navigate the grief. 

I keep thinking one of these years will be without the challenges of transition. Maybe I'm delusional. I say it only adds to my charm. Transition is hard. Life is hard. And yet, life can be so beautiful it takes your breath away. I sometimes think, wow, life didn't take me where I wanted. But life took me where I needed to be. 

This year I resigned one position because it didn't fit, wasn't going to fit, was an awful fit and I chose to go a new direction. I am not a quitter. In the past I would have just worked harder to make it fit. Not this year. I've learned you can try things on and sometimes they just don't fit. Kudos for trying, but the brilliance is in saying no thanks, I'll go another direction. We all have the option to go a new direction.

That's not to say I don't wish for other things in my life. Even blanketed in gratitude we can long for other things. The key, I think is how much time we lose to longing, to anger, to dissatisfaction, and how much time we invest in gratitude. One harvests so much growth and grace. The other breeds discontent. 

I'm not saying there weren't hard times. Times I questioned the path unfolding before me. Times my eyes leaked with sorrow. Times I doubted. Times I wrestled with what was mine, and what was someone else's burden to carry. There were also times I was blessed with the company of friends who helped me pull shrubs from the yard, who invited me to tea, who met me in store parking lots to trade groceries items one needed and the other purchased. Times with my kids. Times with my country family. Times talking dogs, times renewing old relationships and building new ones. We could all say it was the best of times and the worst of times. Because life is just like that.

For those who pushed me, knowingly or unknowingly, in new directions. Thank you. For those who held my head above water, knowingly or unknowingly, thank you. For those who laughed with me, thank you, thank you, thank you. For those who take time to check in on me, I can't thank you enough. For the dogs I've loved and lost this year, I give thanks for how they loved me, which is more than I could ever love them. For faith that grows in leaps and bounds, as well as in increments difficult to measure. Amen and thank you. For health of body and mind. Thank you. For Friday night tequila shots and weekends, for days off and days at work. For old friends and new. Thank you.

It's been a year. For all of us. I give thanks for that, and I wish you that. A year that meets your needs and exceeds your expectations. A year that pushes you new directions, and pulls you close to the love available to you. A year that sustains and delights you. A year that gives you much to ponder as it draws to a close. A year that wraps you in blessings. A year that strengthens you and softens you. All that and more....yes, all that and more.