Monthly Archives: January 2011

faith, motivational, optimism

A year of beginnings

6 Comments

Going into this year, I said time and time again how the new year had to be better than the last. Moving would be forcing us to make big changes, and it would also give us a new place from which to leap into the year.

Here we are, 12 days into the new year, and as I talk to friends (or as I skim Facebook) I find that a strong majority of my friends and family are also using 2011 for new beginnings.

I know of at least four weddings this year, if not five. I know of several pregnancies. Friends are also packing up and making big moves. Still others are looking for new jobs. Some have even opted to go back to school.

Everywhere I look, I see everyone with something new… even if its simply a new life motto. It’s almost as if we all took 2010 to try to “fix” things, while 2011 is instead a reboot for us all.

As I look around me, I still see so very many problems in my country and in the world. But I’ve always believed big change happens after individual changes are made. It only takes a spark to start a fire, after all.

And perhaps, instead of trying to fix problems, or instead of looking at the big picture and how “dismal” things are (because, c’mon, last year we looked at the big picture a LOT with government deficits, etc.), if we all just take the initiative to fix things individually and internally, we can start to see some changes to the big picture. Even a forest grows one tree at a time, after all.

I don’t know! Maybe my optimistic self is starting to bounce back these days, but I am really feeling hopeful for this year. Not just for myself, but for all of my friends and family. For everyone who is making changes, no matter how big or how small. Dream your dreams. Make your new goals. Make those crazy changes you’ve been afraid to make. You’ll never know what kind of positive change it could be until you try.

weather

The curious thing about snow

2 Comments

Growing up in Texas, I really didn’t see snow. Not enough to talk about at least. We got ice with a little bit of snow, usually only enough to make a four inch tall snowman. So, upon moving to Tennessee, snow was a mystery to me. Magical, even.

It snowed yesterday, and I couldn’t help but once again marvel at the curious nature of snow.1-10 Snow

  • As it falls, snow glistens and sparkles in the street lights. It comes down around you without a sound. It somehow turns even the ugliest locations beautiful.
  • Snow turned everyone into kids again. Grown adults reach for the closest thing they can find to turn into a sled. Snowball fights break out. Snowmen get made. Someone is bound to flop over backwards and create a Snow Angel.
  • People forget how to drive in the snow. My husband used to joke that in Tennessee, people see a snowflake and run into the nearest tree. Sadly, he’s often not far off. You CAN drive in snow (if you HAVE to), but the rules are different and it is going to take you longer to get where you are going. So many people forget this, and news reports end up littered with accident reports.
  • Because of the last point, people feel the need to empty the shelves of bread and milk. Always its bread and milk. At least get eggs to make French Toast! How about a little fruit? Or some meat?
  • Coffee and hot chocolate just taste better when there is snow on the ground.

I wouldn’t want it to snow all the time; a few more days of it I’ll be tired of it. Ready to move on again. But, as the snow continues into today, I’ll continue to marvel over its curious, magical nature. I’ll continue to enjoy its beauty outside of my window.