hello friend(s). it's new years.

so blogging.... whoever is reading this can blame hannah for her nudge to know more about my life, as she remotely resides a few states to the left. it's a new year so lets try something new.

this is the first time that i have felt the refreshment of starting a new year. in the pasts my years were marked by the beginning and end of the school year, but this year was different. i clearly remember looking over the oncoming year in january and thinking of all the wonders and oddities it would bring me. and now all those unknowns have happened, and i look back at them instead of forward. i have trekked across months and miles and oceans and continents, and i have reached the other side and will let another adventure unfold this year.

last year i anxiously leaped from one fragment of my year to the next, needing the next "big event" to get me through. i missed all the spaces in between. and that was my mistake. i heard a good toast early on new year's morning that challenged those in the room to be a little more joyful each day. the people that we celebrate with this year are not guaranteed to be there for the next so savor each day in joy: joy for the people, for the weather, for the food, and for the opportunity to be joyful. that is my resolution.

~

"may the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. and until we meet again, may god hold you in the hollow of his hand."

- Irish blessing