Grateful Head

Lately I feel like life has been kinda kickin' me in the teeth. I think things start to settle down and then four teenagers get killed or someone gets shot by police in an icy Ohio River. Karma hasn't exactly been on my side lately in either the work or life department.

But there's a funny thing about things going poorly, those are the times when you start to see the good things in your life. All the reasons you have to be grateful. Friends show their true colors as they stick by you and sometimes you realize someone who you thought was a friend really isn't so much. Things get clearer in difficult times, all while they also seem muddled.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately as I've been contemplating the end of one year and the approach of a new one. I'm not a resolution maker really. But something about Jan. 1 does make me think about the direction I'm headed in. I don't set lofty goals like losing a certain number of pounds or saving x-number of dollars. But I do assess my current state and where I'd like to see it head over the next 12 months.

In 2008, I vowed that I would seize opportunities and try for some adventures. And I wanted to get a hold of what I saw as a spiraling weight gain. And as always, I wanted to deepen friendships.

It was a pretty successful year for that. I tried, though I only got close, for a couple fellowships. I traveled. And I got a lot closer with a set of five women who have really helped my life feel fuller here.

There are a couple goals for 2009. I want to continue to seize the opportunities that present themselves and have as much adventure as possible, even in the everyday things. I want to keep up with the new exercise and healthy lifestyle that has become routine, and hopefully not put on any of the 16 pounds I've already lost. I want to get my book project together, whatever that will be. And I want to have a solid backup plan, in case this journalism thing all comes crumbling down. Mostly, I want to be happy with myself wherever I am at the moment.

I thought a good way to kick start my year would be to jot down a few of the things that I'm happy about from 2008. Somehow looking at what's good about life makes me feel like life will always be that good, even in the midst of troubles.

So, here's my list in no particular order:

*Puerto Vallarta in January
*Chicago at Christmas time (and maybe I'll learn to visit when it's warmer.)
*Making it through Gannett layoffs
*Finishing the mini-marathon
*Finding love and surviving its loss
*BOOT CAMP -- even at 5:30 a.m.
*My new iPhone
*Costa Rica for my 35th -- riding a horse to waterfalls, seeing monkeys and sloths, ziplining
*Yoga
*Crafts with 6-year-old Elise and 4-year-old Lucy
*Springsteen!!
*Writing about the floods in Iowa
*Surviving 8 days with no power after Ike barrelled through
*Avon Walk #6 in Charlotte with my mom and Kate by my side
*Still loving my beat at work and the privilege to talk to so many people
*Walks through Cherokee Park with the girls, followed by a breakfast of pancakes and bacon.
*Friends who never quit being there
*Dinners at Morton's
*Elena and Keith's wedding -- and the opportunity to see old friends.
*White Christmas at the funniest dinner theater ever with Patty.
*Actors Theater nights with Patty and Diane
*Nashville with Maria and Paula -- the girls really came through for me.
*Thanksgiving at the fire house
*A KitchenAid for Christmas
*Losing 16 pounds
*Knowing I can do 30 pushups in a minute
*Bill and Linda taking me under their wings
*Kat's laugh, Kerri's kitchen, Brooke's smile, Heidi's lefse, Renee's optimism
*learning to kayak -- on the Ohio

All in all, it's been an amazing year despite the bumps these last two months have offered up. And there are already plans in the works to make 2009 a great year -- a trip to the inaugural, Mardi Gras roadtrip, Cayce's wedding...

Cheesy alert: The best part is that I know I can get through anything with the support of my family and friends.

Happy New Year!!!!