This girl needs no introduction. You already know her from here, here and here.
And maybe here, too.
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Hello, readers of Jenni-Austria-Germany! I am Jenny with a ‘y’! And I am happy to be here.
I am so tempted to rub it in your faces that I am personal friends with such am amazing person, but that would be rude, childish, and off-putting. But really, I love Jennifer. I am so glad we are friends, and I am so honored that she asked me to start off the New Year on her blog! Can I just say right now that I may or may not be her blog's biggest fan.
Jennifer asked me to write about resolutions, reflections on the past year, and most of all, to make it meet the standard of hilarity you all have grown accustomed to on this blog. She made that very clear.
She didn’t actually say that, but I feel the pressure nonetheless. I am going to say right now that that is impossible. And I offer my sincerest apologies up front. So here I go….
I am sitting here sipping my warm cappuccino, thinking about the past year(s) and the one to come. And I am not sure where to begin.
First, in a nutshell, I moved from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C. in the fall of 2009. I met this guy named Eric in the fall of 2010, and I married Eric in the fall of 2011. Whirlwind? Yes. I went from my never having a boyfriend-independent self, to moving across the country with no place to live (yet), to getting my first real job, my first heartbreak, then meeting the greatest guy ever one month later, and marrying that guy. That’s 2009-2011 for you.
It is easy to look back on the past two years of living away from family and point to specific things that changed me. In my mind's eye, I can see my life in a timeline with great big dots marking important events. But they have not fooled me into thinking those are the things that changed me, or the things that really caused me to grow. Yes, they mark important steps in my life, but they aren’t my life.
In this day and age, and for our generation especially, I think, it is so easy to look back on our lives as one big resume. People measure their success by those big dots that stand out on a timeline.
Big deal.
I think of all the people who paved the way for me to be where I am today....my great grandpa who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Germany to give a better life to his family, my family. My parents who sacrificed so much to give us the best education they could, and taught us to love the truth and to love our neighbor. If they don't think they have accomplished much in life, that would be a tragedy.
Those things never get a round of applause or even an honorable mention in the hall of fame of human greatness. But those are the things that are important to me. And this year, as Eric and I learn how to be our own family, and set the stage for future family traditions, my plans include:
1) Not getting caught up in the future. It doesn't exist. I can easily get caught up entirely in the things I WILL do--and in doing so, forget the present and how special, and fleeting, it is.
2) Pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I am not talking about skydiving (Although, I would do that. Maybe. If someone literally pushed me out of the plane.) I am talking about wearing a floral jumpsuit (no, please no) and not caring what other people think. Or inviting someone over to dinner before I have the menu picked out (my hands get cold and clammy just thinking about that one), sitting down to write when I think I am completely out of creativity, or mailing a package to a friend for no reason at all other than I don’t want them to forget that they mean a lot to me.
3) Basically, making little, beneficial things, more of a habit instead of special occasions.
And that's it: three resolutions. Now I need some champagne to follow my coffee. Please, everyone, have a wonderful 2012, and maybe stop by and introduce yourself. I would love to meet you.
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Thanks, Jenny. :) I especially love, and identify with, resolution #1. An on-the-past-dweller/ about-the-future-worrier myself, I forget how special and fleeting the present is all too often. So maybe I should adopt that resolution, too. Hmmm….
And to anyone and everyone reading, comments on this post have been disabled, so stop by her blog right here to send her your regards/fall in love with her (which you, no doubt, will).
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