Things I Didn't Plan On Doing

This is the last day of 2009 - tomorrow I'll welcome 2010 into my life. The year has a nice ring to it & I'm looking forward to spending the next 365 days with it. I think these days will be a gift - I hope to treat each one as such.
2009 brought things I never planned on doing or expected to have happen, but for which I am mostly thankful.

• I ran what I chose to consider an 'unrace' sled dog race this year and felt good with how it turned out.
  
• I watched my sister bravely face a giant and stand stronger every day. Seeing her courage has been the most inspirational thing I have ever witnessed or been akin to.
  
• In my husband and children are my treasures unspeakable. We've been blessed with time together in many places and for many occasions. These times have been the most unexpected events of the year.
  
• Abigail came home in April for a long weekend. My pleasure was in caring for her as she she did a little convalescing . :)
  
• Michaela graduated and was pinned in May in East Lansing - the family gathered to celebrate her long, sought-after accomplishment. She glowed - she truly glowed that night!
  
• Caleb graduated from RISD in RI the same month and we all, save Michaela who by this time was in the jungles of Ghana working in a clinic, traveled to share in his graduation ceremony and the magnum opus of his RISD career - his final show, "The Value of Nothing". Seeing him in his element - saturated with his talent, accomplishments and his compatriots was cause for me to nearly burst with pride.
• In June Abigail found her niche - a place all her own - as she started OT school in Morgantown, WV.
  
• With pleasure I had the privilege to spend two weeks in Colorado with my sister Lorraine as she started down, what would be, a grueling, long and deep journey toward health and recovery from Cancer.
• Chris came and we worked at perfecting the ubiquitous Mohito, took some walks and moved some rocks. We talked about the perfect chocolate chip cookie and more. So refreshing and relaxing.
  
• My devoted dog, Nike, left me with warm memories to cherish and feel for, what I know will be, years to come.
  
• In August, we took a spin down to Tulum, Mexico, to visit Caleb, Marci & Michaela. I met some amazing people -Mayans mostly, climbed to places so high my knees weakened and my head spun, and dove into the deep, warm waters of the Caribbean to catch a glimpse of a sea turtle and to say I did it. Wonderful Margaritas.
  
• Serendipitously the treasures of my life - the ones I love so much - came home for Christmas and we spent days playing games, making and eating scrumptious food, watching it snow, talking by the fire, watching it snow, snowshoeing, taking photos of wiener dogs (5 in all), celebrating the most wonderful day of the year together, and watching it snow.
  
• This year I slowed down, read more books, took longer walks and shorter runs.
• I've grown as a teacher and my work is something I am proud of. From my most challenging students I've learned unexpected lessons and achieved a little bit more wisdom that hasn't come easily.
• For 2010...I hope to pay attention. That's it...I want to pay attention and attend to the things 'I didn't plan on doing.'

HAPPY NEW YEAR - enjoy your days and treat them as the gifts they are.

The World's Best

Nike - the first and always the best.

Stopping by the Woods...

STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING
by Robert Frost (1923)


Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Today-Tomorrow

TODAY my friend and "neighbor through the field", Peggy, came by with a quart canning jar full of homemade turkey/wild rice soup and a little bag of her whole wheat rolls - she said it's to speed my recovery from this modern day influenza infestation I've been spending so much time with. It's my first food of the day so I thought to have it in the sun-soaked living room by the fire and Christmas tree. Yes, I said sun-soaked - that is indeed the state of my living room right now. I haven't seen the sun in days - I think it's been six - and what a pleasure it is. Everything seems to wake up - including the snow - it's almost welcoming. I think tomorrow I'll take it up on its welcoming gesture and spend some time with it. I'll put everything warm on, snow shoes on my feet and a dog at my side(most probably Cooper) and walk through the field and down the trail we call Nike's - it connects Marci's Meadow to the Garden Field. I'll walk through small saplings, past mature hardwoods, a respectable white pine and along the lower marsh. It'll be very quiet and I'll look for Mountain Ash berries and cedar boughs for my flower boxes on the porch. I think that will be a perfect thing to do TOMORROW.

...and then the snow came..

It started snowing five days ago, and it has stopped only intermittently. From the forecast it will continue to snow through the next millennium. I've been home for four of those five days with what I've been told is the H1N1 flu virus. It's one of those virus's that doesn't mess around - it's stubborn and rife in its symptoms. I've had time to mostly sleep, drink those clear liquids, and yesterday I tried watching the Food Channel - it didn't work out so well. Being home and rather immobilized allows for the quadrupeds in my life to get some extra shut-eye with me; they're quite pleased that I've stopped moving around and have been settled.
Michaela is moving to Mount Pleasant today, Abigail is creating an accommodation for an O.T. case study and Caleb is in Providence rigorously gathering all he needs for his next show in Seattle in January. Marci is in Mexico - it's warm, sunny and calm down there. I can visual the white sand beaches and feel the soft ocean breeze.
Here, it continues to snow, and in actual fact, it's been really nice to watch winter take hold this year - as it does every year - but this year I've been able to stop and pay attention to it , even if it's been a forced halt and 'come to attention' to this detail and interesting phenomenon of the season.
I wish you a wonderful day.