Christmas time last year...

As I sit at my desk, listening to Christmas music, wondering if they're ever going to fix the heat situation so my fingers don't feel like Popsicles, I think ahead to what the upcoming weeks hold. It's hard to imagine what is going to happen and to plan on something, because most of the time it never turns out the way you expect it to. Regardless of whether it's good or bad, things happen that you could never have thought would happen. Circumstances changed and you're faced with figuring things out right then and there. Don't get me wrong, it's so important to have a plan - a rough sketch of what you would like to accomplish or possibly see yourself. When you have that general idea, piece by piece you will work on getting to where you want to be and in that process of doing so, you might surprise yourself and find something else that's worth reaching for.

After I came to this realization, I now look back on past years: memories of this time of year and pictures that scroll as my screen saver and it always amazes me how much things have changed. The people you spent holiday's with year after year have some how slowly dispersed and after thinking of the memories and all the people, there are always those select few who stand out in my mind. Good, bad, in between, but for some reason they have left a mark on my life. Each Christmas season I do the same thing and every Christmas I am thankful for the people that I have in my life, and typically they're always different then the prior year with a few regulars in the mix.

As we get older and create new chapters in our life, we fill them with new memories and new people. Looking back on where I was this time last year, I still remember how I felt - I was happy, finishing the fall semester, going to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree and just going through the motions of life and getting ready to graduate from college. I never would've expected our foreseen where I am now: another year older with a full time job, an amazing boyfriend who I'm moving in with and I'm pretty sure I'm happier than I was last year.

So I think I've learned to just be patient; this year is different than last year, this month is different than last month, so instead of remembering the past, we should always try to look forward to the future because it WILL be different. We may be at the same job, living in the same house, may or may not be with the same person, but we WILL be different. We will view the world a bit differently, we will find solutions to our problems differently and we will be okay. If we can just keep moving forward, we'll get where we're supposed to be.

11 months later, I am right where I'm supposed to be with the person I'm supposed to be with...who'd a thought?