What Changes in a Year

We have lived in our new home for just slightly over a year and I was reflecting on what can change in a year...

1. We moved to an entirely new place.
2. We have mastered navigating said new place.
3. 33 Master's Degree Credits (this puts me just over 1/3 of the way done).
4. 6 of those credits were in Hebrew and I passed, making Hebrew a thing of my past.
5. I became an Inquirer again with the PC(USA).
6. I found both a Spiritual Director and a Therapist.
7. I worked hard at landing my dream placement for my internship, success.
8. Traveling with a preschooler solo by car and for her first plane ride. We went to camp in NC, NJ and FL.
9. Touring a ton of preschools, making a decision and LG starting preschool. (Also found and hired a sitter that wasn't family!)
10. Passing the Bible Content Exam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11. POTTY TRAINING.
12. Ditching the binky.
13. Another birthday party for LG, this one seemed never ending.
14. A slew of holidays in a new place with much less family.
15. The loss of my sweet sweet Mirembe.
16. Wisdom teeth are gone.
17. A big girl bed.
18. We bought our first couch.
19. I now drive a minivan.
20. Survived our first tornado bearing storms and learned what to do when the sirens sound.

There are new friends, we have tried all sorts of new food (I really enjoy Mediterranean cuisine), we have found lots of fun places to go, the list goes on and on. This year has taught me that I am much stronger than I ever knew. I can handle more pressure and a very thin budget. There have been moments when I didn't think I would survive or that our little family would survive. Here we are though sitting around our dining room table on a rainy Sunday afternoon which seems like a gift. It hasn't all been good, I applied for and was was rejected for scholarships and jobs. There have been weddings, funerals and new babies born into the world. We have missed events that were huge for our loved ones because we followed the call here. Mostly we are constantly learning and adjusting and surviving. It's been a good year. I start back to full time classes on Thursday, hopefully I will remain in a good rhythm of writing, praying and exercising that I have been working hard on this summer.I am mourning the loss of lazy Sunday mornings from time to time and trying to embrace my new up and out of the house 6 days a week routine. Saturdays will certainly become more sacred, with trips to the farmers' markets being a staple in our Saturday routine (watch this week for a post about our farmers' market challenge). 

This year I begin my study of Greek, I have already learned the alphabet. I have reading assignments that I need to work on and way too many things that haven't been crossed off my summer to do list. I know though that the important things are taken care of and I am strong enough to face the challenges that I know lie ahead like juggling classes, preschool, the housework, Greek and field education. Writing my candidacy papers and a full psych evaluation. Then there is all the unknown that I am sure will come with this second year of seminary. It has been a challenging year and I can see so many ways in which I have grown. I am not the same girl I was a year ago and dare I say I will not be this girl a year from now.

Today I am grateful for a relaxed rainy afternoon in which I can reflect upon all that has happened in this year.