The Small Victories

I've been waiting to write my first post until I had something brilliantly funny to say, but that isn't the case. My creativity is lacking, friends. It's a new year and I'm beginning a new phase of life, so that'll have to be enough for now. I've recently joined the Quarter Century Club (YIKES!), my school years behind me (for now), my career ahead of me, and a sweet man to walk beside me. What can I say? Life is good. Stressful, but good. I'm finding joy in the small victories every day-in seeing the sun shine brightly, or having a surprisingly warm winter day, seeing old friends, making dinner with other couples, laughing until we can't breathe, holding a precious newborn. These are the joys that I look forward to.

In the meantime? Here are some excerpts from my New Year's Resolutions list. I never really make these because I find them easy to break and painfully discouraging, but that's the pessimist in me, yes?

1. Get a CAREER (working on that)
4. Love. A lot.
5. Read 26 books-1 every 2 weeks-and preferably ones I've not read before.
6. Run/hike once a week until it's warm out, then 2-3 times a week.
7. Be authentic. (Okay, I just added this one.)

I'm struggling with that last one lately. I think I've become quite sensitive to pretentiousness in recent months that, quite frankly, I don't have time for. Seriously. We waste too much time on pretending to be something we're not-myself included-and I'm doing my best to surround myself with others who make me feel good about being me, who push me to grow as an individual, and who do the same. Maybe it's the whole adulthood kicking in? Or maybe it's being exposed to the health disparities that are so widely evident in this community, this state, this country, etc. I'm doing some self-evaluation these days.

At any rate, I have found that things move me in ways that never have before. I have found myself sobbing over a stranger's blog, tearing up over commercials.....seriously. Does this happen to everyone? I'm not sure.

Let me tell you. Today I have been profoundly embarrassed and humbled. Technology has betrayed me, friends. In the form of Victoria's Secret. Let's just cut to the chase: perhaps some glitch in the system caused them to send something to my parents' address rather than mine, making for a very surprised reaction from my mom when she opened up skanky lingerie while at work. People. This is embarrassing. How do you recover from this? Nevermind that it's not going to be used now, but how do you explain that it's for a rainy day???!

But you see, this is what my life is like. Stayed tuned. I'm sure there's more to come.

But for now...my favorite picture of me and my sweet love.