My Valentine

Love.  Valentines.  Friendship.  Reminding the ones you love that you love them.  How great is that.  As a child I'm sure that I did all the typical elementary school stuff of exchanging valentines with friends, I can even vaguely remember all the crazy little valentines and how excited I would be to get a valentine from a special friends.  As a teen and young adult in the "dating" scene, Valentines day was all about the "boyfriend".  Getting him a valentine, getting one from him.  Awwww... love.  But... as an adult , married longtime, somehow over the years the charm of valentines day kinda got lost.  But, thinking about it now, and about how I feel about all the other card-giving holidays on the calendar, I've decided that Valentines Day should be the day to show the people who are important in your life how much they mean to you.  Well not show really... communicate.  Why not tell that special child that you think they are amazing... by giving them a little Valentine.  Why not tell that , or those, best friends, that are there for you everyday... that you are so happy that they have chosen to be your friend.... by giving them a little valentine.  Valentines Day is a great day to tell your parents that you love them.  Its an excellent time to reach out to your family members and say..."you are in my heart".    Hey... I don't work for any card companies... but... I think I'm going to personally make an effort to create some special valentines to send out to the people I love. :)  I think this year I'm going to start making Valentines Day have some of that fun appeal that I felt as a kid... choosing just the right valentine for each friend.   It's almost February.  Time to think about your valentine.

Happy New Year

Welcome Back!  While you were away a lot has happened.  The last year left.  The new year has begun.  What will it bring?  What will we make of it?   How will it surprise us?   There are no answers, only hopes and dreams and the promise of tomorrows.  We are truly each on our own journey and the twists and turns and paths we take are of our own choosing.  Things will happen that we can not control.  Challenges will cause us to re-think our strategies.  Opportunities will present themselves and we will decide what to do with them.    And in the end, the journey will be (have been?) uniquely ours. 

And so, I find myself wondering today about my journey.  There are so many paths before me and I find my head spinning with all the possibilities.  There are so many things I want to do.  So many things I want to be.  So many things I want to feel.  So many things I want to see.  I am greedy.  I want them all.  But I must choose.  I must make decisions.  I must be strong and focus on that which is most precious to me and which will allow me to become the best person that I can be.   I am up to the challenge.  I will make 2011 a year that I can look back on and be proud of.  I will make choices that are good for me and good for those around me that I love.   I will take each day individually and attempt to greet it with optimism and enthusiasm, and if it does not meet my expectations I will know that tomorrow will be another opportunity.   There are 11 more months of tomorrows waiting for me.... where will I be when they are my yesterdays... that is the fun of welcoming in a new year.  The possibilities and promises of 2011 are in front of me.  Yay for them!

Bring it on 2011... I'm ready for ya!