Sometimes you need a break... and sometimes that break is a 5-month break. Or maybe it's not that you need a break and maybe you're just broken. Broken from relationships, from expectations of others and yourself. Maybe sometimes the brokenness becomes so heavy, the pieces weigh you down and you stop seeing beauty.
So many of my posts are about finding beauty in everyday living, and yet, it seems that every year, I go through a season of drought, where life is bla and redundant and oh-my-goodness-why-did-we-sign-up-for-12-years-of-carpool.
This past December, I discovered a quite odd correlation between what I'll call my "bla" season and the liturgical calendar our church follows. Many of you have heard of different church seasons, whether you realized it or not. ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, and even LENT, and EASTER are all actual seasons of our church that have been celebrated for thousands of years.
Guess what liturgical season coincides with my personal "bla" season... Get this. It's called ORDINARY TIME.
While "Ordinary Time" is not as widely known as "Christmas" or "Easter," it's actually the season that dominates much of the year. There are few weeks of this time scattered throughout the various months; however, the big chunk of it comes from the end of May all the way until December.
I think part of growing up is being able to look back and assess what you did right, what could have been better, and perhaps just what the heck is going on? What's interesting though is that because most of the year consists of this Ordinary Time, most of these accomplishments (and the work put into them) happens in just plain, ordinary days.
So, without further ado, I give you my less-than-impressive 2018's 18 accomplishments (which, by-the-way, were made in Ordinary Time).
Guys... I just clicked over to that post and was SO INSPIRED for just a moment, because I forgot it was mine... and all of the things I thought I would do in 2018.
I didn't completely flop 2018. I did actually accomplish a lot. I met many goals. And instead of beating myself up about what I didn't accomplish, let's focus on what did get done.
Ta-da!
I read 17 books. It's not 25, but it's the most I've read in YEARS. Like, since-before-I-went-to-college-then-had-babies-years. I'll post about them all sometime. Maybe.
I ran a half-marathon. And I actually enjoyed it. There were parts that were difficult (and I DID walk part of mile 11) but I finished it and I haven't been that proud in a while. Of course, there's no way on this PLANET I could have completed that without my people. Watching my (our) kids during all of the practice runs (Chris), motivating me in the crappy weekly runnings (Colleen & Renee), giving me a reason to not forgo my long Saturday runs (Mary Beth), and being there for me at the finish line (Chris, Fiona, Eliot, Craig, Lisa, Roger, Renee, and Mary Beth). I thank God for the strength of lungs and legs and hope to do another one this year.
I played in a recital. The first by myself since forever. And it was an easy piece I loved and had played before. And it was beautiful and the audience was just as transfixed by its beauty as I was.
I learned a lot about myself this year. About my weaknesses and strengths. And while I KNOW there is still plenty more to learn and grow in these areas, I'm excited to bring on 2019 and all of it's Ordinary Time.
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