Another trip around the sun

It is a very quiet and relaxing New Years here at the Summers' residence, other than soundtrack of Jonny learning to play "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on the ukulele. The dogs, Jon, and I indulged in a feast of shrimp, cheese, and kilebasea. If that isn't exciting enough, we watched HBO until about an hour ago. We chatted about our favorite moments of the year and then ranked our favorite and least favorite holidays. This conversation was sparked after seeing so many negative posts about 2011 on FB; so many people wishing 2011 good-bye, saying it was the worst year of their life, and hoping to never see it again. Jon and I had an ah-ha moment last year after we watched "the decade in review." At the end of it, we looked at each other and one of us said to the other, "we didn't just have a bad year, we had a bad decade." Could it possibly get worse? Of course it could, but looking back, I can't say that I have the same feelings that I had last decade. How could I? This year I did lose my last grandmother, my house was appraised less than the value (contributing to the ripple effect of us staying in Scranton longer than we ever intended), and we had several minor financial setbacks, like when our chimney ended up in our driveway and Jon's car needed some work. But, are our circumstances any different than any other American? I highly doubt it. The difference this year is that we have decided to turn our setbacks into something positive and to learn from our hardships and challenges. When our chimney fell, we realized we needed to invest in our house if we were ever to sell it. Although the appraisal came back low, we realized we could wait out the housing market a little longer. This gives us time to finish our Master's degrees. And not long after my grandmother passed, my family was suddenly in touch with an entire clan of our family we never even knew existed. We met with them in Texas and now have more family than ever. Some other beautiful moments in 2011: FaceTime - for bringing me so close to so many far away, the birth of my beautiful cousin Boston, adopting a juicing lifestyle, ABC news recognizing my students and me on Made in America, making in through a year of grad school, visiting family, planting flowers with my mom in my garden, watching my friends realize their dreams -Marissa goes back to Italy, Kelly starts her business, and Jonny is learning to play the ukulele. Just being a part of their joyous moments makes my heart swell with happiness. I am not the most religious person, but I believe myself to be spiritual. If these hardships we all endure are placed in our lives only to provide more beautiful and loving ones, than I am ok with having them. No one deserves to be unhappy or mistreated, but the reward of having a hardship is knowing there is a lesson to be learned. So, as you look back at 2011 don't just think about the hardships as bad events in your life, what lesson can you take from it? I wish you a healthy and peaceful 2012. Love, Michelle Ps I'm still juicing. Starting a 15 day cleanse on new years day. Join me!