So, goodbye 36…game on 37.
How did that happen exactly?
If anyone had told me 10 years ago that I would end up where I am now – even around the very edges – I probably would have straight up laughed in their face. I did not believe that this was the kind of life that was in the cards for me.
So, what has 36 given me this time around…
36 was one of those interesting years. It had a lot of downs, but mostly it had ups. I checked another Disney park off my list, I learned that I was much better in high pressure situations (like planning a wedding long distance!) than I ever could have guessed, I learned that I was very good at figuring out high-end legal language that I only half understood, and I learned a lot about how much someone’s attitude can change their entire life. I walked up an aisle in a garden, to a man who loves me, who I love…and away from one part of my life and into another, but also figured out the balance between those two things that means that opening up to one doesn’t mean that you have to completely cut yourself off from the other. I learned that I seem to need peppermint tea on a regular basis, that I still have far too much of an addiction to books and good chocolate, and that there might be other options out there for me to make a living that I didn’t really think about a few years back. I figured out that it might be time for the train tracks of my life to go in yet another different direction sometime in the next few years.
36 gave me the mint green walls and the red door I have wanted for so very, very long…
I was reminded just how very much I want to own a dog…
There’s a lot of symbolism in how much I want a dog, but I won’t go into that just now.
36 also reminded me that it’s important to look after yourself at the same time that you look after others, that life is all about finding and keeping that balance. It reminded me just how many people love me, and it gave me and endless amount of joy at the same time as bring me more than a fair amount of tears every so often…
And it reminded me that – if you are willing to work for it – happiness will always come to you in one form or another. The fairy tale doesn’t just happen, and there is an “after” after “happy ever after” …but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fairy tale. It just means it isn’t always the one you may have expected.
I may never know where the train tracks are going to take me, but as my life stands right now, I can look at the rails behind me and be happy with what they have given me, and with the stops I have made along the way…
And so, I wish 36 a fond and heartfelt farewell, and turn my eyes to whatever the next spin around the sun might bring me.