My Thoughts...A Year Ago and Today. A Year of Learning and Reflection

So 51 weeks ago, I wrote this:

My Life in a Box

It seemed like we got rid of so much, but when it came time to pack the 12 foot by 8 foot by 9 foot space on the back of the moving truck we realized how much we really still had. Our whole lives were in boxes, packed into another box. One cannot say how it really feels to see all your worldly belongings in one small space. You realize how insignificant it all really is. It is not like I have never moved before, but this time is different. The last few times we had time to go back to the house and pick up stuff we left, and slowly move over all the remnants. This time however, literally everything we own was in this space. If the trailer is stolen, broken into, burned, everything we have acquired over these years would be gone! Really makes you think about it.

But, the truck is packed. Cars will be packed today. House will be cleaned today and we will be completely out at least until the carpet cleaners come Monday. This move is really happening and I am so excited for it.

And that brings us to now...almost a year later. Again, my life is in boxes. Not fully boxed like last year, but still enough to realize you need something and find that you have already packed it away. This move is sort of back to our standard. We get our keys on Wednesday and will pick them up with some kitchen items in tow. The succeeding days will follow with multiple trips back and forth bringing over thing we do not want to pack well so the movers can take them. I am sure Christmas day will contain more moving as well as the weekend of which I have one day off. Monday the movers will arrive somewhere between 8 and 10 a.m. They will take all the big stuff. The stuff we don't want to carry or get a truck to do. Thank goodness the new apartment complex is paying for the first 2 hours of this. That should cut our moving costs out a lot or completely if it works out well. The rest of the day will bring moving all the final things over to the new house and, if I am lucky, cleaning of the old one (if not, then Tuesday will be for cleaning). By this time the house will mostly be set up and ready to go and the stress over.

I look over the past year and I have learned a lot of things. Some things I was reminded of, others I learned to appreciate more. This move to Austin was very rewarding all around. We make a lot less money now, but are living life a lot better; physically, mentally, and healthily. I don't see the $$ as a trade off because we knew what we were getting into. We knew getting settled the first year would be difficult and life would not be the same as it has been in the past, but ultimately it would be better. I know we have succeeded in that.

Here is a quick list of things that I have personally learned/remembered this last year:

1. Be humble. Give up your pride. Take advantage of those things that you thought you were too good for. Programs are there for a reason. Some people abuse them, but without some of them, I would not have survived as well as I have this year.

2. Be happy for what you have, not miserable for what you cannot get. My life could be a lot worse. The fact that I cannot just run out and get a new Blue Ray player if I want one or a new laptop is really not that big of a deal. There are those who can't even afford a $30 DVD player and some don't even have a TV.

3. Friends, real ones, love you for who you are, not what you can provide. A real friend is not offended if you decline a dinner invitation because you simply have no cash. A real friend changes plans to accommodate, offers to pay if they have the means, or understands and is not offended. What goes around comes around (as I have learned this year). If the generosity of others if offered to you, just remember, you have probably been generous to others, so let it be offered to you and be gracious.

4. It does not matter what you do, but how you do it. I am most grateful for the fact I have a job, especially in these hard times. It may not be a great fit for my talents, but it pays the bills and gets me by. I could just stand by complaining about it all day, but I choose to find better ways to be efficient at it, perform to my best. It is my high standards I am out to satisfy, not the companies because my standards of my work are set much higher than any company can set.

5. Karma is a bitch, but it is a confidant as well. All the good things you do come back to you too, not just the bad and I feel I must have been really good to have been as blessed as I have been this past year. Good friends, old and new. A good job (I could work in a place where people are assholes but cannot quit, but I work with a bunch of wonderful and multi-faceted people fro all walks of life and multiple talents and abilities). Walter. We have our bumps, but they are just speed bumps, never anything that cannot be overcome. Supportive family. They might not be thrilled I moved so far away, and they might remind me of that often, but I feel they appreciate me more now.

6. Healthy eating is the key. You can exercise all you want, and it might make you fit, but what you put into your body is what makes you healthy. I can feel it. I can feel it when I make bad choices. A good balance of exercise and good eating is my major goal next year. I have a good start on the eating part, now to integrate the working out part. 2010 will see me looking fabulous!

7. People are individuals and wonderful. If you judge a book by its cover, you are missing out on some good reading. I wish more people would realize that. Fat, thin, pierced, tattooed, old, young, gay, straight, poor, well-to-do, angry, happy; everyone has a story and you don't have to like it, but just like an unfamiliar thing on a menu, you will never know unless you try. Try first then decide you do or don't like it.

8. Patience. I still don't have it, but I am getting better with it. I have learned a lot about patience. Let me put a number on it. 500+ hours job hunting. 180 resumes sent. 4 interviews. 2 jobs not received. 1 job (that I had help getting) acquired. 1 interview still coming, results TBD. I am still smiling and happy. I guess I have learned some patience after all.

9. Charity. Kind of goes along with #1 and #3, but still worth a mention. Charity comes in all forms, whether it be a shoulder to cry on, a free meal, help with medical, etc. We give and we receive. Thank goodness for it! Pass it on. You never know when you will need it.

I am sure I have learned a lot more things, but those are the ones that come first to my mind. My life is again in boxes. It is again in disarray. But the destination, just like last year, is worth it and life will be clear again.