Gratitude Post - 2 of 12

My goal in these monthly posts is to reflect specifically on what I am grateful for from the previous month, not just generalities, and as I look at my January and what it gave to me, I see a definite theme, and I realize that I am becoming grateful for something that I would rather not have had just a few short months ago. As February begins, I am grateful for the stage I am arriving at in my life, one of age and a little experience, one of being settled into a certain steady routine, one of reliable comfort.

Just last week, we celebrated Scott’s 30th birthday with some friends and family, and I’m forced to think about what 30 actually means, or what it used to represent to me and what it means now. I am only 2 short years behind him, but I often still think of myself as 22. College certainly doesn’t feel like 6 years ago, and I resemble, in no way, what I once expected 30 to feel like. Truth be known, I’ve sort of been fighting this growing-older thing, and resenting what I thought it meant: limited chances, hard choices, too many bills, the same scenery forever. Only recently have I realized that age and experience has more than monotony to offer, and I am opening up to the idea that life doesn’t end when you settle in one place, but perhaps you give yourself permission to start a few things.

While we haven’t talked about it a lot, there was a chance, a very good one, that Scott’s company would have us moving somewhere new, actually somewhere far far away and new and exciting and all of the things you crave when you are nearing 30 and don’t want to be. Only this month did we find out that the adventure on the horizon won’t be happening any time soon. (Thank you, global recession.) That weekend consisted of far too many tears and glasses of cabernet, and then I realized that there are many things to be grateful for, even if I stay in this place the rest of my life.

We are lucky enough to have a house that we love, and it feels more like home with every passing month as we settle in and make improvements here and there. In the last month, I am grateful for welcoming the baby of a close college friend, celebrating Scott’s 30th, enjoying a family dinner or two with my sister and her growing family, and finally furnishing the ever-empty dining room we’d been staring at for the past 4 years. All of these moments come from the age, experience, and reliability that I am only coming to know in recent years. So perhaps the looming 3-0 around the bend isn’t so much a funeral for the years that have passed but a christening for what is to come.

on repeat

I'm in love. His name is Andrew Bird.




I know I might be a little late getting on this train, and a lot of you might listen to him already. But seriously. Can't. Stop. Listening.

Gratitude Post – 1 of 12

So here goes. Month #1. Post 1 of 12.

As 2008 drew to a close, I found myself grateful for the many memories and experiences the passing year brought me.

When I think back to college or graduate school, I can remember so many specifics about my daily life and weekend adventures – where I went, whom I went there with, what we talked about. Since then, however, I’ve often been feeling like the days, weeks, months, and even years just fly by and half the time I can’t remember what I do from one day to the next. I am so grateful that 2008 has been an exception to this, and as I look back on the year, I think, Wow. I really did something.

As my January gratitude post, I am grateful for the year we just closed.

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While there are many more than 14, I've written a list of specific experiences I am grateful for in 2008 (sometimes with a picture since that was, after all, last year’s resolution):

1. A fun birthday celebration at Eclipse di’Luna to begin my 27th year with some of my favorite people

2. An especially bright and unforgettable group of students whom I felt proud to have taught as they walked across the stage on graduation day – I am continually inspired in my profession by emails, notes, and visits from these kids, and I’m grateful to have mentored them.

3. An adorable niece born in March who could not be a more perfect addition to our family.

4. Two fabulous concerts in the month of May – Tea Leaf Green and Swell Season which, by the way, pleasantly surprised me as one of the most amazing concerts I have ever been to.

5. A reunion with some college friends last June in Seaside, Florida – These girls never cease to entertain me or remind me of who I really am.

6. Our trip to Europe this summer which was absolutely the highlight of my year - There were so many simple moments on that trip – staring out the window of a train, overlooking a canal, enjoying a sidewalk café, or strolling city streets – when I had to pinch myself as a reminder that that it was real and it was perfect.

7. The Decatur Books Festival in August – Seeing Billy Collins read for the second time (and getting his autograph!) and meeting Lee Smith, one of my favorite novelists, was such a joy.

8. The Black Keys concert in October – yet another great night of music

9. A presidential election that made me proud to be a voter and an American and excited about the future direction of this country – one of hope and tolerance

10. The wedding of a dear friend where we watched her revel in her own happiness and we danced and danced and danced

11. A fabulous girls-only slumber party in November where we drank, laughed, gossiped, and watched True Blood until we fell asleep

12. A family photo shoot I’ve already mentioned in a previous post that reminds me how lucky I am to have the family that I do

13. A November reunion dinner party with a cozy outdoor fireplace and the greatest company ever

14. Closing 2008 with some of the best holiday fun and relaxation I can remember in recent years


So when I look back at the year in review, I realize it was, indeed, quite a year and I look forward to the many things 2009 has to offer. My hope is that this little monthly exercise will make me take a look at these experiences as I'm having them, not just after they pass. The challenge is, as Jane Austen says, to “feel the importance of every day, of every hour, as it passes.”

Happy 2009, everyone! I wish you the best of luck with your resolutions, whatever they may be.

New Year's Resolution

So New Year’s resolutions come and go, but as I mentioned on my last post, I had a great idea for 2009’s resolution that involves this blog. Last year, my resolution was to take more photographs, and I really felt like I followed through with that one, giving me hope that I can stick it out if I put my mind to it. So this year’s goal? To complete a gratitude journal. This is certainly not an original idea, and if you peruse the self-help section or the journal selection at any Barnes & Noble, you can see the plethora of gratitude-focused books and journals, but I pledge to do this once a month and post it here. While a few others read this, the idea honestly is that it's primarily for my benefit. It will allow me the time and space to reflect on the many things in my life that are worthy of gratitude and shift my focus away from the things I complain about far too much.

My goal is to post an entry the first week of every month and to be as specific as possible in reference to what has passed that month…. Not simply “family” or “friends” but what about those people or situations is worthy of my recognition as a blessed individual. I'm sure that some months will yield shorter entries than others and some months it might seem hard to think of anything at all, but the truth is that I'm one lucky girl, and I want to use 2009 to focus on that.

Holiday Giving .... and Getting

Posting 2 days in a row? Impossible. See what happens when I have some time off school?

Christmas came and went in the usual whirlwind, but I feel like we enjoyed it more this year than ever before because Scott and I simplified a lot of the usual holiday craziness.

As gifts for each other, we decided to go in together and buy one great camera. It came in about a month ago, and we've already got some great stuff. I am excited to see what it gives us this year as I learn more about how to use it. So far Scott is way better at it than I am, but I'm learning!

As gifts for my mom and my grandparents, my sister and I decided to do a family photo session with photographer Kyle Hale. I discovered him through a college friend of mine when she posted some gorgeous family photos a few months ago. Kyle was reasonably priced, easy to work with, and he came up to our home to do the pictures which I loved. The final results really feel like home - which is probably because it is my home - but you know what I mean. I think our comfort really conveys itself in the photos because we are in familiar surroundings, and he came up with so many cool ideas and angles in and around our house. (If you are in Atlanta and need someone for a wedding or general family photography, check him out at http://www.kylehale.net/.) When we got the pictures back, Melissa and I decided that they were incredible enough to be our gifts to one another as well. I know it's partly because it's my own family and I love them, but these photos took my breath away the first time I saw them. This is just a sampling, and we received 114 photos that are ALL frame worthy.

All of us on the porch - Mom loved this one!

We somehow persuaded my camera-shy grandparents to stop by for a while.

my favorite one of Scott and me

with the kids

my sister and her beautiful family

I think this one is my favorite!

And lastly, Melissa with little Emmie

At first, we just wanted a unique Christmas gift idea, but now I am so happy we decided to do this, and I will definitely cherish them for quite some time. In addition to these fabulous pictures, I received some much needed photo albums for all our Europe pics, a camera bag for the new Nikon, a couple of new books, and ..... a Wii! My arms are sore as we speak because I couldn't stop playing for the past two days.

My sweet yearbook students all pitched in together to give me an American Express card that purchased two lovely Target bookshelves, and believe it or not, the majority of my books have now found their way out of the basement and in to a (somewhat) organized place on the shelves that now grace our dining room.

So all in all, a fabulous Christmas vacation thus far, and I am happy to say I have 6 days left. I have an interesting idea brewing for a New Year's resolution that pertains to this blog, but I'll be thinking on that before I unveil it. I hope everyone's holiday is going beautifully and we are all ready to be out with the old and in with the new. Happy holidays!