january 1, 2010

2009. Let’s think about you for a second. You were a…what’s the word…transitioning year? Especially difficult year? A changing year? An especially wonderful year?

Probably a little bit of it all. Here's a recap (thanks for the idea Tara!)

January-April: Ryan and I got to live .8 miles from eachother. Closest we’ve ever been. We learned a lot about love and relationships; how to give and take and make the best of our circumstances. It was a lot harder than I thought. But it was perfect! Not perfect because it was good and easy, ha, no definitely not that. But perfect because it was hard and worth it.

February brought the death of my sweet childhood dog that I still miss, but April brought the birth of a nephew that I can’t get enough of.

It's all about the give and take, isn't it?

***

May & June: I’m so glad for these 2 months in 2009. They were absolutely crucial. It was then that I decided that I couldn’t live without Ryan in my life, and that waiting for him for 2 years to serve a mission was probably going to be a part of my future. I really thought I would never do it until these 2 months. In June, actually on the same day-June 26^th, I found out that I got into nursing school and Ryan and I celebrated our year anniversary. The puzzle pieces began to come together, and I started to see what a difficult road I had ahead of me.

Give and take, give and take.

***

July-October: Some of the hardest, darkest, loneliest, yet most spiritual months of my life. July 1^st is when Ryan and left, and I struggled struggled struggled. Oh my gosh did I struggle. It was awesome though; the lessons I learned in those 4 months are lessons that I’ll carry with me the rest of my life. I developed traits and skills that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Again, it’s all about the give and take.

***

November-December: I started to get into the groove. My old self started to come back, I let go and started to trust myself and my Heavenly Father, and Mr. R.

***

This year I learned that one door will close while another will open, that not all is lost but that struggles are there to teach you. They are designed specifically for you, it’s amazing really. And while life isn’t 100% awesome right now, and I’d give anything to have him here with me, that this experience is 100% perfect. No, not the good and easy kind of perfect, but the hard and worth it kind.

***

Now, 2010. Let’s see here…today is my birthday and you started off by giving my entire family food poisoning (besides me and Sarah). Not the best first impression, but let’s hope this means that you have a good sense of humor cuz right now I’m kiiiiinda scared of you.

And how do I feel about turning 20?

Yikes! I'm old!