Things I've learned this year

As I close the book on 35, I realized that this year has been pivotal ~ I’ve learned more, grown more, put myself out there more and allowed myself to experience more things I would have never imagined.

My top ten list of things I learned while being 35

10.  I will NEVER master the art of bread-machine baking, so I will stick to tried and true loaf pans and kneading. (Seriously. It should be so easy. How can I NOT do this?!?)

9.     I now am closer to 40 than I am to 30. (Hmmm … No explanation necessary.)

8.     I don’t like change, but I do embrace new opportunities. (I don’t like my dentist retiring, my in-laws leaving for the winter or having my schedule interrupted, but I love taking more photos, writing about amazing people and growing my circle of friends!)

7.     Homeschooling is about making school work at home for your family. (We bravely stepped outside some of the box this year.)

6.     I fiercely miss creative writing, but I absolutely love non-fiction writing! (I now have written for a newspaper longer than I had been a teacher; this year I was able to write a research-based article for a magazine and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it!)

5.     Starting a blog is scary. (I am expanding my photography business – follow me here – and writing more, so this gives me an opportunity forces me to do both.)

4.     I can pet a horse and feed a dog. (I’ve met some really amazing people this year – one talented woman left me alone in an arena with a horse that was not on a lead rope *gasp, panic, or whatever emotive language you need to insert here* and another gentleman forced wedged cheese in my hand during a presentation I was watching while sitting next to him and his service dog.)

3.     Some of the sweetest people often face the most difficult of challenges, but face them with grace and dignity. (Countless people have walked into and out of my life this year who have taught me to be thankful each and every day.)

2.     Every time you say, “yes” to one thing, you are, in effect, saying, “no” to something else. (It has been hard, but we are choosing to say “yes” to more family dinners, “yes” to more time with friends and “yes” to less stressful days while saying “no” to overscheduled evenings and also saying “no” to some things we’ve “always done” just because we’ve always done them.)

1.     One moment - one experience - can change your life forever. (There have been a lot of moments this year, but one in particular has altered my life forever and I will always be indebted to those who made that happen.)

So, as I open the chapter of year 36, I look forward to all I have yet to learn and experience.

Thanks for tagging along on this journey while I am Just Writing Through!

For pictures, here is a sprinkling of my day ~ schoolwork, playtime, reading and making Belgium waffles! And, my girls gave me a gift card from my favorite bookstore Read Between the Lynes:)