New Project

As if my life isn't busy enough, I've decided to take on a new project in honor of my 30th birthday. Over the course of the year, I plan to write 30 letters of appreciation to 30 people who have touched my life in some way (I say 30 but there may end up being more). I just feel so fortunate. There are certainly some challenges we face, that I face, but I feel fortunate even for those (most of the time) because they teach me something. The biggest challenge in our life right now is finances. We we balance our budget, we literally have more going out than what we can count on coming in. Thankfully, Jason is able to bring in some extra cash and we make it paycheck to paycheck. When we filed our taxes last week, we realized exactly why 2009 was so much harder than 2008. Besides the obvious fact that Ethan didn't really cost us all that much at first (we paid hospital bills a little at a time), we made several-- and I do mean several-- thousands dollar less last year. But you know what? No matter how tight it got, we still managed. For that, I'm thankful. We are lucky to both not just have jobs, but have jobs that we love. We're getting ready to pay off one huge debt, which is really going to help us out every month. I'm in a good place. My 20s were so topsy turvy, and I guess most were most other people's. A decade ago, I felt like I was in a totally different world. I was in college, had just started at Roanoke College and was just getting to know myself, really. I could write for days about how much I learned and grew and changed over the past ten years, but I just remember feeling so very insecure and unsure of myself. But somehow, I ended up exactly where I had always dreamt I'd be-- married to my best best friend, a home I love, kids I love, a career I love. I mean, down to the blue Jeep Cherokee Sport I always wanted and the black hound dog-- I have it all. The path wasn't anything I expected, and as Darden Smith says, "love don't travel in straight lines." But I'm here-- here, right where I want to be, and there are so many people who helped me get here and I want to thank them, let them know how much I appreciate their influence in my life. One of my students said last week that heroes are the people who inspire others and I have been so inspired along my journey. I've contemplated starting a sub-blog (I may have just made that term up), dedicated to that, and I still may, but I'll update here as well, as I write these letters and acknowledge these people. Maybe I'll inspire you, dear readers, to do the same. I think saying "thank you" is one of the greatest gifts we can give.