Another New Year

It's another new year....2009. I can honestly say that I was quite glad to see 2008 leave. It was not a good year for me. I think I cried more last summer than I have in a long time. One thing after another was hitting me and I was being challenged at every corner. As I look back now, though, I see that I grew a little with each new challenge. Sometimes we get to feeling sorry for ourselves when things get rough but in reality, those times are needed for us to grow. With Russ and I living in separate places for a year, it's given us both time to reflect on ourselves and our lives. We've both talked about it and we have both learned to appreciate what we have as a couple. Neither one of us is comfortable with the lonely feeling of going through life by yourself. I hope we never get comfortable with that. We've learned to appreciate all the little things that each of us do that makes life run smoothly. I've learned that I have more strength than I ever thought I had. With each new challenge I'd think, I just can't handle this alone and then I would figure out what needed to be done and conquer it. I had come to rely so much on Russ for my strength that I didn't give myself credit for my own inner-strength. I've always known it was there but I just hadn't tapped into my strength in awhile so I had to challenge myself to use it. I think I talked to more and more people who also said the same thing....that 2008 was a weird year for them. Many people were hit with hard things to deal with and somehow we made it through. So, I, for one, am looking forward to a better 2009. I'm starting out with a positive attitude that my house will sell in time for me to move to GA. That Hannah will find her way and know what she wants to do with her life, that Cory and Stephanie will start a new life together that is bound by a deep love for each other, and that Amber will find her way and learn that family is as important as all her many friends. I quit making big resolutions at the New Year many years ago. For me, I just want to grow more as a person, get more of my life recorded in my scrapbooks, and grow closer to God. May each of you, find your way this year and grow stronger in whatever you set your mind to do.