So this is the last POTW message I will write this year. It's also the last message I will write this decade. Wow!
If there were ever a time to stop and do a little reflection, it's got to be now, am I right?
I was thinking the other day about these messages. To be honest, I was also dwelling on the fact that my "recipient list" has shrunk a lot over the years. Back in the early days I sent these little weekly broadcasts out to a lot more people. I suppose things may have been more interesting at the beginning than they are now. We were adding babies to the family. We were dealing with healthcare diagnosis and surgeries and appointment updates. We were able to share a wide variety of cute things that adorable toddlers and preschoolers do on the regular. Teenagers are slightly less cute.
These days, we are settled into the business of raising a family. Our world is so very different at the end of this decade than it was at the end of the last one. Late in 2009 we had just completed the process of rocking our whole world by adding a new baby to our established little family. That wasn't a particularly easy transition, if I'm being honest. But goodness gracious I can't even imagine having made a different decision. We would most certainly be different people if Zane (and eventually Beckett) hadn't joined our family. Different isn't always better. In this case, it's certainly not.
In 2009 we were still able to manage the sports practice schedule without calling in reinforcements and we still took entire months off without obligations to some coach or another. These days, we are tied to a calendar and to the practice and tournament schedules given to us from a variety of different coaches - times 4. It's definitely a busier lifestyle than we had back when I started writing these little messages. Bob and I laugh often about how young couples without kids talk about how busy they are and how tired they are because we know what's coming. Today we know we need to go to bed early. We know when to save energy and how to prioritize both our time and the never-ending To-Do lists. My house/yard/job is always in need of something. My boys almost never are... feels like a good balance for today.
At the end of the last decade I was halfway through my time at the job where I learned to be a product manager. It was a time of push and pull for me for sure. I was busy growing babies and growing my career at the same time and, in hindsight, probably also taking a bunch of things for granted that I shouldn't have been so blind to. At the end of this decade I think I can safely say that I have matured enough to know where my priorities should be and am on a journey to make sure I treat these things with the importance they deserve. Goodness knows I'm not perfect and I know this thing we call life is more a journey than a destination. Shame it's taken me 45 years to figure out that the goal is to enjoy the ride instead of waiting on the goal line.
I'm estimating here, but I guess that I've sent somewhere around 885 of these weekly email messages. 17 years x 52 weeks (plus a few months in 2002 minus a very few weeks here and there where I missed a week). 885 of anything is a lot. For me to ask you all to come along with me on this journey and to take time out of your week 885 times seems a tremendous imposition. And yet, it is also one of the greatest gifts you could have given me. To know that there are people out there following along with our little family who care enough to read these ramblings from time to time provides an (often) invisible umbrella of support to me that I couldn't be more thankful for as I look back over the last 10 years and look forward to the next 10.
Thank you for your love and support over the years. Thank you for caring about me and my family enough to spare us some of your valuable time - and your more valuable thoughts and prayers! You are appreciated and you are loved.
My wish for all of you as we move into this next decade is that you will find gratitude in the everyday-ness of everyday. That you will feel love and light pouring into you from everyone you encounter - but especially from those you love and care for in return. And that you will be happy and healthy and have all you need through today, tomorrow and the next decade. I hope you are all still reading along with my story in 2029 when I will (God willing) have 2 boys off in the world and 2 more working through the joys of high school. If you are looking for me at any time over the next 10 years, check the local gymnasium's tournament schedule. I'll probably be there...
Thank you! God bless! Have a super happy New Year!!
No comments:
Post a Comment