intertext | A Good Year

It's not over yet, but I plan to put my feet up and watch movies and maybe even go to bed early tonight, so thought I would post a few reflections.

It has been a good year. I found myself still in the process of recovery from grief and getting used to being alone after ten years of intensive care-giving. It's amazing how difficult learning to be happy can be, sometimes. I'm not always successful, but at least I'm learning to get help when I need it.

Friendships have been a delight. I have some lovely new ones, and some old casual friends are becoming much more important friends, and old friends are still there, solid as a rock. I had a vague resolution to be more social this past year, and I think I can say I've succeeded.

I went to Paris!!!!!!

I still have both my dogs, and they are still wonderful, and Cholmondeley is 14 1/2 but remarkably well, if a bit frail.

Clio-the-cat continues to keep me warm at night, relaxed in the evening, and well aware of my inferiority.

I don't do resolutions, really, but I want to lose a few pounds, get a little fitter, read more, write even more than that, and learn to be a little more - balanced - about life. Perhaps writing them here will give those wishes a bit more power.

May 2008 bring all my dear LJ friends every blessing and delight: good books, good movies, good food, good company, solace in nature, laughter, and a new season of Battlestar Galactica!!!!!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wow - this is so beautifully expressed.

I'm with you in the desire to learn to be more balanced about life. My younger daughter and I are still trying to work out how to involve the purchase of fabulous notebooks in our plan to be each other's coaches in this goal.

Hahaha. I am SO with you on that. I love fabulous notebooks and have many beautiful empty ones cluttering up the house. That doesn't stop me buying more, though :)

I think we all could use some more balance, but it's the hardest thing to achieve.

I can tell you from experience keeping a journal that it CAN help. Since I have been writing here from the embarrassing age of 15, I can tell you that each year you can see your progress. I don't usually look back on older posts, because, well, they are a bit . . . immature, but sometimes I will look back on pivotal points (like my Nana's death, breakups, all the crap with my mom), and think, "wow. I've come a long way." Maybe this is more pronounced for me because I have "grown up" on my blog or something, but even in the last few years when stability of emotions and strengthening of maturity has been present, I still look back and see my own personal little achievements. And sometimes I see things I still need to work on that I didn't realize were still there, which is useful. And besides, I guess we're always "growing up" in the sense that somehow, uply grown is an ideal state of being.

In any case, I truly believe that writing will help you a great deal in any area of life, whether it is recording your personal and private thoughts, or sharing interests, or showing/needing advice or support. And, it's a pretty neat record to have of thoughts, life, and everything.

Blogging has been a remarkable discovery for me. I never kept a "real" journal, but there's something about sharing thoughts with the virtual world that is inspiring. I've been doing this for over four years now, so not as long as you, but you're right about how therapeutic it can be, and I like going back and seeing how far I've come :) Thanks for the wise advice.

Wow I'm retarded. I didn't realize you had been doing it for over four years (although I'm sure you've mentioned it). For some reason I thought you were just approaching year 2?

Anyways - Yay for Blogs!

No worries! I started blogging in Sept 2003, because I asked a group of English 250 students to do it, and thought I should do it too. I was a very bad blogger, only posting about once a month, and didn't know anything about the whole "friend" convention. In the year before my mum died, I was pretty much house-bound, doing all my teaching online so that I could look after her. That's when I really got going, and it kept me sane, I think. So that's now three years of serious blogging, and one year as a dilettante :)

I'm with you on the learning to be happy - not being happy becomes a habit, and one that is surprisingly hard to break. I'm making progress and I hope you are, too.

Yeah, thanks - I think I'm beginning to, but you're right; it's damn difficult! Here's to being happy!!

A Good Year

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