Its a New Year

Happy New Year to all of my friends and family!

During the course of 2011 I was consumed with writing papers for school, taking care of my Mom, and naturally this blog just fell to the wayside. Over and over, I kept thinking that I wanted to dedicate more time and energy to recording my thoughts and events. However that just didn't seem to happen. Today is Monday, January 2, 2012 and it is a new day, and a new year, so naturally it is the perfect time to begin again!

I am very blessed to have two beautiful friends in my life, Connie and Jayne. These two women are each extraordinary women, they challenge me, encourage me and support me, each in their own way.

Each year they have a tradition, they pick a "word" for the year....one year it was Hope, one year Faith etc. This year, Connie has chosen "Exploration" as her word, and Jayne has chosen" Focus". As I was reading Jayne's blog, "Mom's Musings" I thought to myself...it would be much easier to choose a word, to define the events of that year, as that year came to a close! However, I think their intention is to focus on setting a course for the upcoming year...a navigational tool of sorts.

If I were to have chosen a word for 2011, it would have to be "accomplish." I finished the masters program that I was in, we bought a house and got our family moved into that house....two pretty big accomplishments! With a brand new year ahead of me, I sit here with excitement trying to decide what my "word" should be! Actually, I have been thinking of this for several days...

I have thought of "quality," "hope," "focus", however none of those words felt quite right.

Finally last night it came to me...."Enjoy!"

Using the word "enjoy" as my navigational tool in 2012, I wanted to remind myself to take a deep breath, and enjoy the moment that I am in, whether it be good or bad. I need to remember that this is a moment in my life. One, that I can't get back, so I should enjoy every second. Honestly, I hope that this keeps me from being in such a hurry, rushing around, forgetting things. (like loosing library books!)

So there you have it friends...my word for the year, if you were to choose a word what would you choose....I hope I have made you think!

xoxox

Tilara

The Gift of Friendship

Several weeks ago my girlfriend Debbie and I were sitting in the Lexington gymnasium having a discussion on friendships. We are both nearing the 50 year mark in our lives, so needless to say we have a great deal of experience in regards to friendships.

There are friends that we knew from our youth, those we played in the sandbox with, those that sat beside us each and every day in primary school. We never saw beyond the day, when these individuals would not be a part of our day to day existence.

Then we traveled to the land of High School, where relationships became "oh so complicated". Girls competed on a day to day basis for popularity and for the cutest boy on the football team. I remember sitting in Ms. Faile's Algebra class, wondering when did it all get so complicated! The relationships that once were so simple and easy were now the battle fields of our youth.
Time passed and more relationships mixed and meshed into our lives, some worked, some didn't. There were reasons why we let some friendships disolve, and reasons why we cherished others.
The definition of friendship has changed many times for me. Many people come into our lives, but who do we label as friends? There were friends that I "cut town with in Kershaw" with to those that taught me valuable life lessons, and those that have taught me how to enjoy life. I have found friends in many places, the sandbox, friends from other countries, to friends younger than I and of course the friends that are older than me, who have taught me the importance of enjoying life!
Today, I am enjoying many friends from the various "windows" of my life, my friends beside me as I venture forth into my fifties. Life is good, and I am excited about tomorrow, and the new friends, tomorrow will bring!