Goodbye 2012...Hello 2013!

It is a beautiful, chilly morning in Athens, GA this morning. I just got back from a 5 mile run and I'm showered and back in my Nick and Nora Owl Flannel pjs, sipping on a Carmello latte from Jittery Joes (shhh...don't tell my neighbor!) and all snug in bed whilst I write this blog. I can hear the hubs making me breakfast and my dog growling at the kitty cats as they walk past 'his' window. All is well in our little Athens world.

We just got back from Canada where we spent some serious time with my family and brought in the new year. I noticed lots of my friends writing/discussing their new years resolutions and I love reading/hearing about their aspirations for a new year. I think it's a great time to set goals and to start anew. What are my new years resolutions, you ask?

1) Read more! I always have a book next to my bed, but often times it goes neglected. I want to read a little bit before bed. I'm not setting a limit, even a couple of pages will do, but I want to read all of the books that I have purchased that have been staring at me from the bookshelf.

2) Keep in better touch with family and friends. It's hard when life gets into full swing and the minutes fly by, but I realize that my family and friends are so important and I want to know about the happenings in their lives. I need to reach out more and make myself more available.

3) Run a half marathon! I'm well into my training and I'm excited about it :) Now I just need to sign up for one. Also, I cannot procrastinate with signing up as I waited a little too long for the Hot Chocolate 15k and now it's full. Probably a good thing because my time in Canada put me a little behind.

4) Get more satisfaction out of my work. I love what I do, but I feel like I could be more fulfilled and I need to strive to find 'my calling'. Stay tuned...

5) Keep up with my social media sites. I love looking back at my tweets and blogs and lately I've been slacking.

I think that's it for now. I may also take up swimming this year. Let's see how it goes.

I'm glad to put 2012 behind me and I think my family agrees. It was not a good year. Sure it had it's ups and downs, but over all, I've had better. I haven't been too vocal about the goings on as I said in a previous post, because it's painful. I work in hospice and I work with people who are very sick and comfort their family members in their time of need. It becomes very different when it's 'your time of need'. There is no guidebook and no rules to follow. I wish that we could look into a magic ball and see what the future holds. I know when I went home in September to learn that my father had stage four liver cancer, that my world flipped upside down. My family is positive and so is my father and that's what is getting us through it, but to see and hear someone you love go through so much pain...well...there are no words to even describe it. It's hard to be away from home while all of this is going on and I feel for my brother who lives with my parents and is one of the most stoic people I know.

I remember when I got back to GA, I was a mess. I wanted to scream and I wanted things to be 'normal'. I tried to get back into the swing of things and I went to bootcamp. I had told most of my good  friends via email about my dad and I had not had to say the words out loud. We started our warmup run and a good friend of mine asked me how things were with my dad. I said 'fine' because I didn't know what else to say. Then it the midst of conversation it came out that the trip did not go as expected and when she asked 'what's wrong?". I had no idea what to say. I didn't want to be a Debbie downer and I wanted to put a good spin on it, but what do you say? I burst into tears and ran to my car. I stayed home for the next few days and got myself together. It's hard because people don't want to hear bad news. It gets awkward and people don't know what to say. That or the they say things like 'maybe he should try this' or 'maybe this would help'. I know it comes from a good place, but sometimes all I need to hear is 'I don't know what to say, but I'm here for you'. The phone calls, messages and texts from friends that are 'just checking on me' is what I need. The hug from my husband when he knows that my mind is off thinking about the unknown. My dad is having surgery at the end of this month and I'm happy to have the opportunity to be by his side. I'm going to need lots of 'I don't know what to say, but I'm here for you' along the way, but we will be fine. My family is strong and my dad is the strongest man I know.

I did get to fulfill a dream in 2012. I went to Israel and I studied Post Traumatic Stress disorder and Trauma with some of the forerunners in the field and I met the most amazing people. That will be something that I will never forget.

Welp, it's time to bring this novel to a close and 2012. Goodbye 2012! You will not be missed. Hello 2013, I'm beyond ready for ya!

P.S. Check out this peacock that I ran into on my run this morning! So random!