Looking back at 2011 and forward to 2012

2011 was a year of great transition!  It began in somewhat of a "normal" manner, but by the end of March we knew that changes would be coming.
The church was struggling financially, Jay's parents agreed to move to NC, Walkerdance Ballet Studio and Ballet Theatre were sold, I was giving more and more work time to the Center for Congregational Health.  
In the months to come, HUCC would reduce the salary package for the pastors, Meme and Papa would move, Emma would finish MIddle School and start HS, Abi would start her final year of HS, apply for college & scholarships, I left my pastoral position at HUCC and went to work full-time with the Center, and we would all try to pretend that life was moving along in a "normal" way.  Well, CHANGE became the new normal.


WE SURVIVED!!!
We tried to plan and take things as they came, but even in the midst of working to adjust, change is not easy.  When much change is going on, every change feels bigger!  


In August we hit a long stretch of major chaos--the Center had asked me to join the staff starting on Aug. 1, but the Hospital system had not approved the job and had not hired me, therefore things felt a bit off and very complicated, once the hospital rolled the ball everything fell into place and I started my full-time work the last week of August.  
School started back with Abi starting her last year of HS and Emma starting her first year of HS.  First home football game on the first Friday night, and by Sunday evening the quarterback and many year classmate of Abi was on life support, and my teenagers had many questions about life and death and "Why?".  The students from the school were an amazing community and pulled together to support each other and Harry's family.  The school tried to function as if nothing had happened.  
The next week, Jay's dad fell and spent the night in the hospital.  We began to be frustrated that they had not been able to move yet.  Jay's parents were supposed to move in mid- September, of course, their house wasn't ready, we were told it would happen by the end of October....they moved the week of Thanksgiving!
Also, during this time frame, the transmission on our "good" car went out.  A costly repair! We had made the decision just 6-8 weeks earlier to make a few more payments on the car and then trade it in....oh, well, now we must make even more payments....and we were without a car for a month.  We managed.  After getting the car back, we realized that we were not so comfortable with the reliability of the "good" car (good because it was new-er than the others), soon we settled into a pattern of our reliable car being a 20 year old Nissan Sentra with over 200,000 miles.  This realization pushed us to get a new car.  


The Fall, also brought with it rehearsals for the Nutcracker Ballet and my decision to continue working with costumes.  Again, our whole family participated, this year in a new location for rehearsals and performance.  
I continued to run, not as much as I had hoped, but most weeks I did meet my goal of 3 miles at least 3 times per week.  So, that was a good goal for me.  On Thanksgiving day we ran our 5K again, my time was actually worse this year! Go figure!  So, I am now working to decrease my time for next year's 5K....maybe there will be a 5K between now and then as well.
Meme and Papa moved on Friday before Thanksgiving, on Wed, we went to the beach to celebrate with the extended family.  Boxes are still not unpacked, but that is ok and will happen as they need what is in those boxes.
As we approached the Advent season, we began to realize that we would not have the time and energy to decorate our home to the extent that we usually do for Christmas, so we put up the tree decorated the mantle and the porch, and we moved into the holiday season trying to catch our breath!


A big high-light of 2011---Jay and I celebrated 20 years of being married, Dec. 28!  We managed to spend a whole day together just being together and enjoying each other's company!
On the last day of 2011 (yesterday), I decided that this New Year's Day, I am taking a different approach to my celebration.  Today, I am going to move at a relaxed pace--taking the time to enjoy every minute and if I am not enjoying it, I will change what I am doing.  My plan for today--share this update, go to church with my family, out to lunch with the teenagers, go for a long walk, knit something and cook dinner for my family and in-laws.  


In 2012, I will work toward--a healthier life (scheduling some over-due doctor's apptmts, and embracing a healthier pace to life), lessening the clutter and doing more of what brings me joy--whatever that may be!


Happy New Year to you!