So This is the New Year

I do not respond well to change and it always takes me a while to accept that a new year has actually started. I think I write the wrong date on everything much longer than most. As usual, I am having trouble believing that it is 2009. This is a particularly significant year for me because I graduated from high school in 1999. Where did the decade go?

Over the past ten years, I have studied, traveled, worked, and moved. A lot. I can't seem to stay in one place for more than a few years, and in some cases, more than a few months. Since high school graduation, I have lived in four states and two countries, and I have lost count of the number of apartments and houses.

I once complained to my Southern Alter Ego that I felt like as soon as I got settled anywhere, I would be uprooted and have to start all over. She suggested that it might help me to see moving as planting seeds in different places. That analogy made me feel better, but moving is never easy.

I have also noticed that as soon as I know I am going to move, I start daydreaming about having a garden. I have never had the space or time to have own garden, but I love the idea of committing to a place and a piece of land for long enough to make things grow and be able to eat food that I planted myself.

After my New Year's resolution last year didn't work out, I wasn't sure whether I would try having a resolution this year. Until a few weeks ago, I had no idea what this year would look like. My current job ends in August and I was feeling very uncertain about where I would go next and what I would do.

But I have decided to stay in Seattle for a year after this job is over and so my resolution for this year is to have my own garden. I haven't decided what I will plant, but I am very excited about growing some of my own food and staying in my house long enough for a garden to grow.

Of course, I know that I am not in control and any plans I make are tentative. I still don't know what this year will look like, really, but I am grateful for all that I have. As the new year begins, I am especially grateful for my family and friends, my job, food on the table, a warm home, and hope for the future.