Well 2011 didn't disappoint. Have to admit it was kind of a blur. It was a year of firsts, lasts, challenges, victories, and growth.
2011 was a year of:- Hard work and persistence paying off.
- Taking risks........sometimes the risks paid off, and others times I fell flat on my face.
- Travel from coast to coast and every where in between: California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas....twice, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Virginia, Washington D.C., Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Indiana..... I'm sure I am missing a few.
- Moving
- Making mistakes and learning from them.
- Reconnecting with old friends and making new friends.
- A constant reminder of what an amazing family I have.
- Waiting for my new nephew to join the world in a few months.....I haven't met him, but I am already madly in love with that little man.
- Doubt and reassurance.
- Divine encouragement
- Being beat down and broken....but dusting myself off and standing back up
- Learning that I am nothing without my Jesus. Every thread of who I am is part of a bigger masterpiece that I may not be able to see yet, but will someday understand.
- Returning home to Durango and Sonlight.....even if it was only for a week or two.
- Moments where I was able to laugh at myself.
- Of being loved.......and loving in return. Learning to not let heart break make me bitter.....but to make me better.
- Learning to be real and genuine.
- Pouring in to others and letting others pour into me.
- Being surrounded by people who make me laugh, cry and help me maintain my sanity. I don't know what I would do without those people.
- Not letting anyone steal my joy.
- Creating.
- Experiencing the magic of Disneyland for the first time....at age 27.
- Watching my athlete's grow and in turn growing a little myself.
- Watching my athletes make hard decisions and close chapters of their life as they move on and explore their new journeys.
- Adventures......challenges....taking wrong turns..... struggles...... laughter.....
- Hope
- leaning on unwavering faith.
- Being thankful and learning to live in a state of wonder and awe. That I have a Savior who was born in the most ordinary and regular way. Lived a life loving people who didn't deserve it, performing miracles and dying on a cross for man's sins, so that I and WE may live a life of freedom, hope and love.
It is hard to sum up a year like this in words. Starting the year in a bus full of college basketball players with a busted tire seemed slightly appropriate. I'm sure that this won't be the only "flat tire" in my next year. I do hope that I can handle the situation the same as a bus full of basketball players: with laughter, humor and making it a moment that they will be talking about for months to come.
Farewell 2011....... what a year you have been. I start this year looking forward of the future possibilities, learning from the past but refusing to look back. Valuing the moments I have in the present and taking advantage of those moments.
