Can't believe that I'm already writing another ''New Year's'' post. Granted, it is already one third into the New Year, but there was just so much that happened that I couldn't really stop and think about it all until just now.
::THANKFUL::
I am thankful. That is the overwhelming feeling I got from 2010. I am thankful.
I am thankful for my sister Kate.
This year, I saw her blossom into someone I never knew she could be. I have always thought she was wonderful and amazing. I know she's probably throwing something at the computer monitor right now but I'm just going to get all of this out. I'm going to pretend that its just me reading this. Otherwise it won't sound truthful. But back to what I was saying. I have always thought that my sister Kate was wonderful and amazing, but that she underestimated herself. This year, in 2010, she fought everything that life had ever put in her path. She completely reinvented herself, while keeping the very best wonderful parts of herself. She made huge strides in a life that would scare me. She rented her own place by herself. She got a job. She made dear, dear friends who love her. She put herself out there in every sense of the word. She has nothing to reproach herself for in 2010. She did everything well. She did everything right.
I am so so proud of her. She has come so far on a path that she carved for herself, and it was the right path. One that I never would have seen her walking, but now that I see her on it, I see that she knew the right path all along. I know that 2011 is going to be the very best year for her. She is heading in for a jaw surgery sometime within the next six months, and I think that after that, her life will change dramatically yet again, with another high point. I love my sister Kate. She inspires me to keep moving, be brave and stand tall.
I am thankful for my older sisters.
Annie and Emily are the road maps for which I live my life. I follow where they went, and hope I handle myself with the aplomp that that they have. They are my inspiration for so many aspects of my life. I am thankful for the countless phone calls poor Em answers just so I can vent to her.
I am thankful for my parents.
I am thankful for both sets of parents. Chris' parents have long ceased to be my "in-laws" and have become just my parents, and my family. There was joy in 2010. My father in law got a job. We went on a wonderful house boat trip. I spent countless hours chatting with my mother in law, shopping, laughing, planning. They've also showed me things that are harder to put into words. Patience. Unconditional love. Integrity. Honesty. The ability to always be the bigger person. I admire them for everything that they are, and who they are. I am beyond lucky to have them in my life, both for guidance, for laughs, and for family.
I am so thankful for my own parents this year. They are amazing. I don't even know where to begin or how to say it all. They both are the perfect compliments to each other. They fulfill the role of parent (and all that that implies) in every aspect. Gosh, this is sounding gooshy and mushy. I'm not meaning it too. :-) Whatever. I think I always think each year that passes that I will get older, wiser, and that I will stop feeling like I need them every step of the way. I've found that I use them every step of the way in my life. My dad's jokes. Advice. My mom's stories, ideas and thoughts. I go to them the same way I did as a kid, for advise, praise, swift kicks to the pants, comforting and love, and they are always there for each thing as I need it. That is pretty incredible when you stop to consider the seven girls ALL do this. :-)
My younger sisters.
I cannot BELIEVE how they have grown this year. It is absolutely, positively, shockingly scary. They went from being the toddlers in my mind, to young women. I'm not kidding you. Young WOMEN. Not older girls. YOUNG WOMEN. Did you hear me? I don't know where or when it happened, but I turned around and the babies I remember were gone forever and in their places were these amazing, incredible, lovable, fantastic women who I will count among my best friends forever. I won't even launch into their many good points, because its half past twelve am, and I need to wrap this up.
My babies.
I don't even know where to start. Where in the world would I be without Lia and Davy? I can't even picture my life without them. They are my everything. They are my breaths of fresh air. My yells of annoyance. My sighs of relief. My best medicine. My most annoying chore. Everything I do and everything that I am is tied up in those two little bodies. I love Lia's courage. Davy's joy. Lia's sharp mind. Davy's curiosity. They are both unique, and I can't help it, the very BEST kids in the whole entire world. I have yet to come across a kid who I think is better than those two. They are the most lovable, wonderful bundles of love and joy that I could have ever imagined. This year they learned to play with each other, annoy each other, help me, help each other, spell, count, cut with scissors, go to preschool, jump on their beds, sing and dance. They change every single day. Nothing compares to having Davy come and wrap his arms around my leg and say, "Know somethin' momma? I wuve you." Or Lia running up to me after preschool and knocking me over with a hug and her voice saying, "I MISSED YOU MOMMA!"
My husband.
Yeah, I'll bet you were wondering when I'd get to him. I just saved the very best for last. :-) As much as I hate to admit it. He tends to be right. Sometimes he has to drag me kicking and screaming, but he always always has my best interests and happiness at the heart of everything he does. I've never met anyone who was as selfless as he is. My mom always calls my dad her better half, and that's what Chris is. He's my very best half. I've never met someone who was as full of love, hopes, dreams, schemes and thoughts as he is. He always has information to share. Things to do. Places to be. People to love. I feel like this year, we settled into a comfortable groove together in our marriage. Somewhere along the way we got on the same page. LOL, it's only taken six and a half years. :-) If each year, a new version of him came out, the 2010 version was the very very best. :-) He got laid off from a job on a Tuesday in August, and by Friday he had a job offer in hand for a better company and a better job. Who DOES that? :-) My husband is wonderful. Amazing. And he's better than yours! Chew on that. :-)
me
Ha. I'm not thankful for me necessarily. But I've got stuff that I want to work on. 1) not to be so defensive. I don't know why but I still always assume that someone is attacking me when they are pointing stuff out. It's a sucky habit. 2) Take time to do things right. Cut out juice in our family. Shop at the grocery store and spend under $20 a time. Read more books. Go to the park. Go on walks. Don't watch TV. 3) Don't be lazy. That sort of is an addendum to #2. :-) 4) Go on an overnight date with Chris. Dude- we've been married 6.5 years. We've earned it. 5) Pay taxes on photography. For some bizarro reason I've got it in my head that when I pay taxes on my photography work, it will mean I've made it as a professional. LOL 6) Live, laugh and love. And yup, that's about it!
I suppose that this whole post could have just been summed up by saying that I am thankful for my FAMILY. Because that's really all that life is about, isn't it? To be loved? And the people who I love most, and who love me most are my family.
Here's to an amazing 2011.
