Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Most years have been the same for me. I tend to watch life happen for others while I wait for my life to begin. As the years have passed I have wondered if I will ever be fully engaged in living or if I am destined to be a sad observer. Truly sad I was. I tend to live in my head or through books. I wait for "one day", "some day" or 'as soon as" to happen. Things have been different recently. I am no longer content to hang out on the sidelines and be passive. I don't know whether the difference is a result of getting older, gaining a modicum of maturity or eating gluten free. Whatever the reason I am finally feeling good and doing things I never thought possible. Someone IRL recently asked me for my bucket list. This is what I wrote: My short term bucket list: complete the zip line that defeated me last summer; climb to the top of a rock wall; start saving for Kilimanjaro. My midrange bucket list: Kilimanjaro in 2015. I plan on taking an MP3 player and singing with Toto from the summit. My long term bucket list: keep living. gluten. free and enjoying whatever is in my power to enjoy. I am going to say yes a bit more. However, I will be using discretion when I make those decisions. My goal is to say 'NO' to those things that make me sad/angry/feel small or unimportant and a whole lot of 'YES' to things that will help me grow, feel special and important and to things that will help me help others feel the same. I am going to stretch my imagination and my abilities and do things that I never thought possible. -- (I had to rewrite this last part becuse it is so awesome) I now have people in my life I can truly call friends. It is an amazing feeling. They are folks from DS's new BSA troop and crew. We have much in common and I don't feel like such a nutcase when I am with them. This has been the best gift of 2012. One of my friends and I took our kids rock wall climbing yesterday. I usually belay due a fear of heights and an inherent mistrust of other belayers. My friend and I took our belay recertification class together and were each other's partners throughout the training. One of the requirements was to climb the wall and complete two spontaneous 'falls' so the belayer could learn to do an emergency save. The idea was to learn how to do the save and to know what it felt like for the climber. I had to trust her and her skills in order to pass the class. I found that I wasn't as afraid when she was my belayer. I trusted her!!! I used that new found trust and climbed to the top of one of the walls. It took me a few tries but I did it!!!! Her kids and my DS were an awesome support crew and offered me kind words and high fives after every attempt. After my first successful climb to the top I was greeted with whoops and hollers from almost everyone in the room. What a great feeling that was. -- On the heels of that success will be my trip to the Boundary Waters later this week. I plan on tucking the feeling of success from my wall climb into my mental survival kit and using it when I need a bit of a boost. Has anyone accomplished something you never thought possible? Are you willing to share? I want to rejoice with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 What an wonderful post! Thank you for sharing your amazing accomplishments! 2012 has not been very kind to me and all of my "accomplishments" were things I'd rather have never faced. But, I did learn that I could make it through and that I'm stronger than I thought I ever could be. I like your list better. :) Good friends are awesome, aren't they?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 What an wonderful post! Thank you for sharing your amazing accomplishments! 2012 has not been very kind to me and all of my "accomplishments" were things I'd rather have never faced. But, I did learn that I could make it through and that I'm stronger than I thought I ever could be. I like your list better. :) Good friends are awesome, aren't they?! I am sorry you had a rough year. :grouphug: I hope and pray that 2013 will be a better year for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest inoubliable Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I can't find the words to share what I'd like to here, but I do want to say that I loved hearing about your successes in 2012. Inspiring and I know that I will be thinking on several things you wrote here. Thank you. And best wishes for 2013. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remudamom Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I'm a grandma. It's the best. I'll sing with you though............I know that I must do what's right, sure as Killamanjiro rises like a leopress above the Serengeti!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 2012 has been a year of upheaval for us. Moving for a job. Job going bye bye. Moving again. Finding out baby #6 is on his/her way. We already know there's more to come in 2013. I have an appeal sched w/WCB in Jan. That'll make us or break us, essentially. The fall out from that, good/bad will absolutely impact what choices we have for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share Posted December 23, 2012 2012 has been a year of upheaval for us. :grouphug: I appreciate how you have kept a positive attitude through it all. You are amazing, Impish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Honestly, I'm nowhere near amazing. If I'd had the *time* and the *space* to completely melt down, kicking, screaming, and crying, I would've. Unfortunately/fortunately, I always have kids around, have to keep it together, and keep moving forward. W/all the upheaval, they need to know that Mommy and Daddy are standing firm, and can be counted on. I have a breakdown scheduled for sometime in 2025. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 I also feel like an observer of life. 2012 has been a bear. Two redeeming things: Dh started a new job two weeks ago that is a much better fit for his skills and pays more than his former job. I also sold my first short story. Granted it's a short story, it wasn't a lot of money, and I sold it to friends who created a start up short story publication business. But once it is published, I can say I am a published author. I wasn't sure I'd ever see that, so it's a start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 In 2012, I quit my full-time job because it was hurting my kids for me not to be with them. I did it with no safety net or plan, willing to accept what came as a result. After I made the decision, dh's business grew in leaps and bounds. When I submitted my resignation, I was unexpectedly offered part-time hours of my choosing. I'm not sure if this move was bold, stupid, full of faith or all of the above. I really had no expectation other than, if I went down financially, it would be in the name of doing what is best for my kids. Leaping off the cliff without a safety plan is so NOT what I do. But I did. And it worked out better than I could have ever anticipated. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 A whole lot of healing for me this year. It's been incredible. :) Also, my husband's started his own business and (praise the Lord!) it's doing great. We've been so blessed! Leaping off the cliff without a safety plan is so NOT what I do. But I did. And it worked out better than I could have ever anticipated. :) I can totally relate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windmillmarie Posted December 23, 2012 Share Posted December 23, 2012 Nice post. What changed for me so far is that I have decided to engage in life fuller too! I used to be a very busy and active person, but something happened along the way while I was having kids. I think we have decided our family is complete now too, so that's a big change. I have been pregnant, nursing, or TTC since the late '90s. I had to be watched carefully in my last pregnancy and struggled with my c/s healing. It was nerve wracking! Now I feel like I am about to enter a new step in life. I am using the internet more and actually joining in on things online. That's more related to having better access in the city. Oh, that's another thing. We rent, but we will probably buy in the next five years. We moved into a small town not far from our old city to see if we like small town living. We've now lived in a rural home, a bigger city, a smaller city, and now a small town. I think we'll have a good idea of what we like when we find our forever home! Or conversely, we might decide to remain renters because we tend to get itchy and want to move every few years. That isn't going to happen if we own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 One left on a 2 year mission to Peru in April, miss him so much but we email once a week and we will talk with him on Christmas. One is leaving for college early January. I have been taking Microsoft Office course at a college since October so my employability skills will change for the better, even though I do not want to work full time away from home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Thanks for your inspiring post. 2012 was a crazy year. Financial struggles, babysitting two of the cutest babies in the world, having a German exchange student, and finding out I had ovarian cancer were the big events in the year. I'm still working through the whole cancer thing, but I hope that next year will be a year of peace and tranquility for my family, and the year that I finally do all the things for my health that I've known all along I should be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Thanks for your inspiring post. 2012 was a crazy year. Financial struggles, babysitting two of the cutest babies in the world, having a German exchange student, and finding out I had ovarian cancer were the big events in the year. I'm still working through the whole cancer thing, but I hope that next year will be a year of peace and tranquility for my family, and the year that I finally do all the things for my health that I've known all along I should be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 It's been a tumultuous year for us. But it's all been for the better. It started out with MIL's passing in February. DD's anxiety went through the roof during that time, so we started her on prozac, which fortunately, worked GREAT! It was busy too. We were doing OT, Speech, and Counseling every week, along with piano and gymnastics. Now though, we've graduated from all the therapies, and DD is also on concerta for her ADD. This Christmas break, I've taken the girls on several field trips, because we had TIME and because DD is so much easier to live with. Next year, 2013 is the year that I start taking care of myself. I can finally get to the gym a couple of days a week, and the girls are old enough to leave alone for 90 minutes. I have neglected my health for the past oh, 10 years (since DD came home), so now it's *MY* turn! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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