A new-to-me year

Goodness, WordPress has changed since I last hopped on here! I suppose re-learning WordPress will be one of my personal goals for this year.

That’s right, I had a birthday!

Yes, I completed another trip around the sun. It was a good year. The past four or so years have been pretty good, actually. Maybe because it was about that time that I started being more intentional in looking at what was good, what I had accomplished, what I wanted to do and pursue, and what I wanted to change. That doesn’t mean everything was (or is) perfect, but that small shift in perspective has made a tremendous difference in my life.

Similar to how some people like to review their year around New Year’s, I like to review it during my birthday. This year I found the inventory process interesting. When I looked back, I found myself plucking out these memories:

I knit a sweater I absolutely love. I’ve knit several sweaters now, but this was the first pattern I chose on my own, without the help of a class or instructor, and absolutely loved the end product. What a cool feeling!
I prepped for and ran a half marathon all by myself. OK, this was my first half in five years (and only my second half ever), and yes, I did see several people I knew there. But this was the first time I decided “I’m going to do this” and I trained on my own. It was really satisfying and I loved the race, despite the rain and cold. 🙂
I traveled to Fargo (so unexpectedly fun!) and way on out west to Montana. That was incredible, and one of the reasons I’d like to keep a digital blog. Yes, have my paper journal, and I love that, but sometimes it’s faster to type.
I volunteered consistently throughout the year. Giving back to the community and supporting worthwhile causes – and beings! – is very important to me, so this felt really special.

A couple other noteworthy events included:

I celebrated a work anniversary and also made a conscious decision to limit my freelance work. Both have worked out well.
I celebrated my first wedding anniversary. This makes me chuckle, because the date my sweetie and I met feels more special than the wedding date, but this was a noteworthy event and I was happy to celebrate it.