What happened to 2011

It is now seriously into October.  All the resolutions made in January - have they happened?  My resolution to be a regular blog writer was a fail.  I have gained a lot personally from the time I spent writing and thinking, but I have wasted more than my fair share of time as well.

It is still refreshing to think that, as I am heading (too) quickly toward yet another decade, I can still love learning and take great pleasure in doing just that.  I have started many projects this year, few of which have really stuck with me.  Still I look upon all of it as life experiences and know that with my personality, I will continue to change it up as time moves on.

Some of the things I have done this year are:

 I redeveloped my interest in scrapbooking and card making.  Sadly, I think that is one thing that no matter how many times I try to like it, I am just "not that into it".  I have good intentions but - well - I don't think it is my thing.  I have crocheted....hmmm, it is fine, but I think my Grandmother Venrick would be seriously rolling her eyes at me.

I started going through a lifetime of stored memories in our basement and warehouse.  I have things from my parents, from my brother, and from my children.  I have found that the memories I have left of Kate and Casey are just too hard to part with.  I seem to be able to get through RJ and Jessie's things and make lovely memory boxes for them.  Parting with the other things will have to be left for someone else to do.  We have too much "stuff" and I want to get through all of it if I can.  Our warehouse is becoming too cool to work in as fall marches on, so for the winter I will take my project back to the basement.  Why is it harder to part with things that belonged to people who are no longer with us?

I have taken up an interest in geneaology.  I have a long way to go, but I have learned that I have grandfathers that fought in the Civil War on both the Confederate and Union sides.  It is pretty darn interesting.  As I move further back into the generations, it obviously becomes more and more confusing.  I can spend a half a day on one clue for one person and still not be sure if I'm right.  This kind of thing suits my general propensity for loving research.  If I had to do it all over again, I probably should have chosen a career in something to do with research.  It fits my propensity to like both being alone and liking to learn new things.  I have found the odd newspaper article here and there that talks about things my grandfathers did and how they got from one state (Pennsylvania) to another (Ohio).  That is fun as well.  My brother always used to tell me that the answers to our questions are out there somewhere, you just need to know what to ask and where to look...sounds like research to me.

Before the end of the month my next project will be learning further skills with a Desktop Publishing program.  I guess that isn't really a necessary skill for me, but it will be something fun to do...kind of like when I started my learn to speak Danish kick through Rosetta Stone.  That didn't last either.

Oh, Scrabble online is something new I have been doing.  I always thought I was a better player than I am.  When I see the way some people play, I am blown away by their word skills and creativity at properly using the scrabble board.  Still, it is fun and it helps keep my mind sharp.

My husband has developed some health problems that we hope can be fixed with a rather major surgery.  That will be coming up in late October.  We have spent since 2002 dealing with my ill health and now that I finally seem to be in a good place with that, it's hard on both of us that it is now his turn.  For better or worse, in sickness and in health isn't always the easiest - but we are comitted to one another and helping each other get to the best health place we can.  Hopefully he will be fixed up and we might even have a chance to travel some and just enjoy "being" and not really "doing" for a change.

As always, my animals are my everything.  A couple of them are getting old and we need to begin thinking what life will look like without them.  It is something that  is hard to do.

So what is really constant in this life of mine that I tend to change up all the time?  Family.  My kids are black and white, night and day, up and down.  It doesn't matter that they are different from one another.  It matters that they have the feeling that they can be adults in their own right, knowing that with their choices come consequences.  I want each of them to find something they love to do and do it to the best of their ability.  Neither of them need to think they need to be what I want them to be.  I do want them to feel  their own responsibility to society and their families.  I love them both, in spite of their incredible differences.  It still amazes me that children born of the same parents can turn out so differently.  My soapbox stand is that different isn't bad...it is just....different.  Let each of my children embrace their own uniqueness as well as respect each others.   

So as I close this blog, laying on my bed with my laptop, two dogs and three cats sharing my space and keeping me warm on this crisp fall afternoon, I urge each of you to think back to the beginning of the year, think about what you THOUGHT you might do or learn and compare it to what you ACTUALLY HAVE done.  Maybe you are track - maybe you aren't.  I say it doesn't matter.  I think it is all good.  What you actually did do likely gave you a different perspective on life and kept your brain busy in ways you didn't imagine 10 months ago.  We all change our ideas and that is what makes the world go 'round.  And..after all, 2012 is just around the corner.  It will be time to make new resolutions once again!

Blessings,

Ane