Lessons from 2023

Quiet moments are priceless.

The pandemic and Lizard's anxiety have robbed me of my ability to exist in crowded spaces.

I have not yet learned how to answer acquaintances who are not close friends when they ask how my husband is doing without crying. So I avoid those situations altogether.

Walking around the block will never be as good as riding around the block, but it's better than sitting on the couch.

Sleep anytime it hits is precious and beneficial.

Walking laps around the kitchen/dining room/living room will never beat walking outdoors, but it's better than sitting on the couch.

Squirrels may be a pain in the backyard, but they sure can entertain.

Prayer and strong faith can get me through the most difficult times.

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The Wow Vow

I got my 3,000 miles, but I didn't get my three peaks. In 2011, I'm upping the ante changing the rules...

I reached some of the goals I set for 2010. This also is the first year I haven't been terribly disappointed that I wasn't able to do everything on my "List."

Three distinct events this year have taught me some important lessons. Those lessons were drilled home a couple of weeks ago when a Sunday School lesson asked, "When you meet your Maker, how will you feel about the way you spent your life?"

I've been mighty proud when I've hit milestones I thought I couldn't reach and when I've proven naysayers wrong. I LOVE squelching that little voice inside that whimpers, "I can't!" I had a ton of fun trying to reach 1,000 miles in one month this year, and I'm still wearing my 3,000-mile Smile. I have a snowflake glimmer in my eye because I actually completed 70 snowflake designs this year. Finishing all the girly Christmas presents by November is a huge feather in my cap. Or should I say, my stocking???

But when you get right down to it, those things don't really make that much difference in the long run. What's really going to matter is that I spent time doing good for others, trying to make a difference in the world and trying to comfort friends and family when they suffer.

I do have some important goals for 2011. I'd really like to finish a quilt by the end of February for the Denver National Quilt Festival. That's one of the goals I didn't achieve in 2010 due to one of the distinct events this year that taught me to spend my time wisely.

I hope to get more miles on my bicycle next year than what I got this year, but the important thing will be to have fun riding when I do. The only concrete goals I'm setting for my bike are another 1,000-mile-month, riding to the start and home from the finish of Ride the Rockies (but we've got to get drawn first...) and making it to the top of Pikes Peak in August, which means staying in shape after Ride the Rockies this year. I failed that one this year because of Lesson Number Two. No regrets.

I hope to come up with 52 more snowflake patterns, one each week, and right now the goal is to get a picture of each one in front of a mountain it will be named after. But I have pictures of most of the peaks I hope to design flakes for, so if I can't get to the mountains for several weekends in a row, separate pictures of the flake and the mountain will suffice.

I hope to finish Makeover Madness retouching in 2011 in time to go to Moab for Thanksgiving, but if I don't make it, I know I'm doing something worth my time, and that's what matters.

Getting Christmas cards out before December 31 next year is a set-in-stone goal for 2011. But I think I've accomplished that only three times in the last 12 years, so it's a goal, and I'm shooting for it, but don't shoot me if I don't make it. Again.

I hope to climb three 14ers, but it won't kill me if I don't make it. I know from experience. I failed that one this year, and I'm still alive and kicking.

I hope to learn something new in 2011, and I hope to finish more unfinished projects. Those are lifetime goals and always in progress.

I'm also hoping to improve my gardening skills and my garden next summer. Must have more fresh, home-grown tomatoes!

One of my unwritten goals for this year was to read scriptures. I'm very proud to say I accomplished what I signed up for! At the end of last year, I signed up for an email subscription beginning Friday, January 1, to scriptures through Daily Lit, which allows you (FREE!) to set your own goals, from a few verses to a chapter to several chapters per day, per week or per month, with the option of suspending the subscription during vacation or if you get behind. I'm a pretty fast reader and I love to read, but my truly leisure time typically is fairly limited. So I signed up for two chapters (or the equivalent thereof in case of long chapters) three times a week.

I expected I'd need to suspend the subscription during Ride the Rockies, but at the last minute decided not to, even though I had no email access the entire week, because I wanted to challenge myself to catch up when I got back home. It took me eight days to finish six days' doses, but catch up I did! I actually had more trouble staying current the last three months than I did all summer long. But I made it! I've never been more than a week behind all year long, and as of right this moment, I'm current, with one more day and one more email to go. So I'm carrying this project over into next year, and I intend to keep going until I've finished the entire book.

And that's it for goals, other than spending time with loved ones and friends. That's what I think I'm going to care about when I meet my Maker. It's a bit of a modification for a goal-driven gal like me, but I don't consider it a step down. In fact, I think I'll be much happier with this bit of streamlining for 2011. And isn't that what life should be about?

May the coming year bring you the happiness and fulfillment you need and deserve!

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