In just a few hours I will be saying goodbye to the ‘office’ and hello to the holidays. I am very relieved that extended retail hours are over and that all that is left to do for 2009 is eat, drink (get a spraytan, pack for a ten-day cruise) and be very very merry!
What an incredible year 2009 has been... over the past 12 months I have gone from a newlywed to a not-so-newlywed – grown to love my husband more than I thought was possible and adapted to the new set of responsibilities that come with turning a household into a home. I’ve cultivated new friendships and renewed old ones, I’ve been forced to face my weaknesses and discovered strengths I never knew I had.
This year I learnt that sometimes the worst experiences are worth going through, if only to show you that you can get through the toughest battles in one piece. I’ve learnt that blind loyalty can be, just that – blind. And that friendship is less about unconditional love and more about loving people no matter what the current conditions are.
In a year full of highlights I realise that the few lowlights were necessary. You don’t appreciate the laughter if you haven’t experienced a good cry, and you don’t appreciate the contributions that people make to your life until you’ve had a few people take things away from you. I am so grateful to a handful of individuals who have truly enhanced my character and who have been so very worth investing my time in – some friends just can’t help but go ‘above and beyond the call of duty’ over and over again without ever being asked to.
While navigating life as a newlywed I have seen several of my loved ones become engaged, say ‘I do’, become expecting parents and grow into fabulous, neon pink (I don’t tolerate ‘beige’ people easily) human beings. So much has happened in 2009, so much that promises to make 2010 one awesome ride – so many journeys have just begun... I look forward to engagement parties and wedding days and baby showers and all sorts of landmark moments that make for life’s highlights package.
They say you can’t choose your family... well, if I could have I wouldn’t have changed a thing. The family I was born into, the family I married into and the family that I was given through circumstances beyond my control is a unique, colourful blend of personalities. I can never complain that my family is boring, predictable or ‘average’! So, to my husband (the love of my life), my moms, dads, brothers, sisters and all the branches of the extended family tree: Thank you for the love, the support, the adventures, the encouragement, the lunches/teas/dinners/brunches and for always being available for wine o’ clock. You are all rock stars!
So here’s to the end of one year and the beginning of another. Here’s to investing in relationships that make you smile so hard your cheeks hurt. And, here’s to living without limits, dreaming without conditions and thanking God every day for every second, every lesson, every blessing – because, if there’s one main thing I can take away from 2009, it’s that without Him everything else is just icing. And, I’m just so grateful for the cake.
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