HAPPY NEW YEAR

Well, another New Year is almost upon us. It seems to me that 2010 just started; however, I tend to lose track of time when I'm busy and it was a busy year for me. It was a good year for the most part, "rough patch" aside, and here we are at the end of it already.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I do not make resolutions in the typical sense of the word. Rather, I make a list of what I would like to accomplish during the coming year and so far, I have about 15 things on the list. One of my main concerns in my house is that we don't have closet space. Well, we do, but I can't get any more stuff into them! It's time for a purge and I don't quite know how to approach the topic with hubby in a diplomatic way. I mean - how many jackets does one person actually need? He only wears two: his old, soft leather and his work jacket. I am more than willing to donate the others, some of which are brand new, to someone in need, but he seems to have objections to that. I would welcome suggestions from you about what to do about this. Remember, diplomacy is the key. He has to think it was HIS idea in the first place!

Another goal of mine is to spend more time on my writing. I recently attended a class on self-publishing; it was most informative and I want to get going on that. My writing still provides solace and peace to my (at times) troubled soul and I want to set aside blocks of time devoted to the written word. It's amazing how uplifting it can be and during the dark days of winter, a little uplifting is good.

I also want to get back into my crafts. I miss working with my hands, too, and I love creating hand-made gifts for the special people in my life. I have some fantastic "recipes" for bath salts and some wonderful patterns for spa cloths and slippers. All my "girls" work hard and I love to give them things that make them feel pampered.

I do have a sweater on the go and once it is finished, I will get on to the other things. I could have worked on the sweater during Christmas break, but I got my nose into a really, really good book and pretended that my needles and yarn weren't sitting a foot away from me. I love to read, of course, and I tend to forget about the time when I am in the pages of a book. This one was the second in series of three about a young woman who survived the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and it was absolutely fascinating!

There are other things on the list as well and who knows? Maybe I will actually get some of them crossed off in due time. For now, I wish you and yours a peaceful and Happy New Year and all good things for 2011. God Bless and be safe - all of you.

Time for Sharing

It's been a long time since I have written. I experienced a bit of a "rough patch" and I had to work my way through it. I don't really know what caused it - I just got to thinking about all the loved ones I have lost over the years and I realized how much I missed my mother and my best friend. They have both been gone for a long time: my dear friend passed away in 1990 and my mom left us in 1993. It was strange in a way that I went through another grieving process after so many years; perhaps it was because it was the 20Th. anniversary of my friend's death. I kept hearing her voice and seeing her beloved face in my dreams at night and it was like she was trying to tell me to keep going, to continue my writing and my teaching, that I was doing some good, even though I couldn't see any results. Her message was one of encouragement and love and I am thankful now for those dreams because they motivated me to keep going when I was at a point where I wanted to give up.

So, I plodded forward: working at my summer job, writing, and getting ready for teaching in the fall. And life has been good. I have learned to believe in myself again and I am enthusiastic about my classes, which are going very well. I teach adult students and one of them told me today how much she appreciated the fact that I didn't "preach"; I shared my knowledge and skills in a way that made the class feel as if I really cared about them. And I do; they are very special to me because I haven't forgoten the days when I went back to school to obtain my certifcate in administration. I remember how hard it was; I knew I had a family to support and these ladies are no different. I can't promise them a bright future and I don't, but what I can promise them is that they will obtain skills and knowledge that will enable them to be an asset for any organization they work for. I am so happy when they see the results of their hard work on an assignment or an exam. I am moved by the pride I see in each face when each successive mark obtained is higher than the last one. To me, that is what teaching is all about: sharing in their successes and celebrating each milestone.

I hope all of you have shared something of yourself recently. The feeling you get when you "give" is indescribable. Today, I took a load of groceries to a family who recently lost their home in a fire. There are eight children in that household. How could I not give when I have so many blessings? I dropped the food off at the home of a friend of this family and she expressed such gratitude. But you know something? I didn't do it to receive thanks. I did it because it was the right thing to do. If you share in someone's joy, you can surely share in their sorrow, too.

It is the time of year to share; I hope you will count all the blessings you have, and decide to share some of your good fortune with someone in need.