I always get melancholy this time of year. I guess most people do. I use the end of the year as an opportunity to reflect on the passing year and to make goals and aspirations for the new year. When I look back at 2007, I find it has been a good year. My family was blessed with the birth of a healthy grandson, we all have our health, were able to travel to Maine to see our oldest daughter graduate from college, saw the Niagara Falls (a dream of mine my whole life), my husband is a successful Army Recruiter (the HARDEST job in the Army) and was promoted, I graduated from college and started a new college program, and the garden is still the garden even though it suffered tremendously in 2007.
4) I will find the right job for me AND for the job
I look forward to 2008 and to prepare for the new year I think ahead to what I hope will happen. It is kind of a "get prepared now and you will know how to react when it happens" mechanism. I have had many years of looking ahead and back and many, many changes in my life. Most all have been great and everything seems to turn out fine in the long run. Moves are the biggest changes and challenges that the new year used to bring to my life. No more moving so now life's priorities have changed. Here are my top ten hopes the new year (in no particular order): Some relate to gardening, some everyone can relate to, and some no one but me will desire.
1) World Peace
2) Continued health for family and friends
3) My children will continue to grow and prosper in life
5) Jimmy will enter his first year of high school and finally realize it is COOL to get all A's
6) My husband's stress level will be greatly reduced because his recruiting duty will end after more than three long years.
7) It will rain between 1-2" each and every week this year, and only in the early morning hours when I am not in the garden.
8) The voles will change their dietary habits and instead of eating my perennials and shrubs, they will now eat only dandelions and plantains.
9) The adjacent property owners will finally sell their house and move. The new owners will be great neighbors and wonderful people. (As a bonus at least one will be a gardener and/or appreciate plants)
10) I will continue this blog and get to meet more super people and learn new things about gardening and life.
Last year at this time, our family was preparing for a much anticipated and long awaited trip to the Ringling Barnum and Bailey Circus in Nashville. And because I love stories, here is how we wound up at the circus. Jimmy was born in 1994. Because 1994 was the 125the Anniversary of the Ringling Circus, the Circus, in conjunction with Family Circle, offered every single child born in 1994 a free ticket for one circus performance good for the child's lifetime. It took us nearly 13 years to finally use it, but we did and had a great time. Circuses sure have changed since I last saw one!
Be safe this evening and may the New Year bring you all of your dreams, hopes and aspirations.
Happy New Year and make it your best every day!
in the garden....