I’m originally from Canada, so Happy Boxing Day everyone!
I’m going to be totally honest… when I was a kid, I had no idea what the hell this day was. I honestly thought it had something to do with the pugilistic arts, but I’ve heard other stories and the idea of sharing leftovers appeals more.
I’m at work early, so I have a few minutes for a quick blog post and then I’m going to wrestle with a redesign of a spreadsheet. Sounds boring, right? But it’s not! I love patterns and data and solving mysteries. Today’s task is all about making our big quarterly budget meetings with program folks easier for both them and for our budget officer. I know… Still might sound boring, but I actually really love this work. I’m going to take my moderate Excel skills and build something into our spreadsheet so it won’t be so difficult to compare “gala apples” to “golden delicious”. Both are financial data but both come from different perspectives.
And I guess that’s where I am today: A different perspective.
I came into 2019 recovering from surgery, married, dating a wonderful woman, and trying to keep my kids going, especially oldest.
I depart 2019 in such a different way. I’m still (seriously) healing from that surgery in a few different ways. I’m in process of getting a divorce and I truly believe that both of us are better off because of it. I’m no longer poly, except perhaps in how I view the world of relationships and resist the concept of any type of “ownership” between the people involved in them. I’m wildly happy in my relationship with Spicy Ginger. My children are both surviving and even thriving, although not in the ways I could ever have imagined. I’m learning to let them live their lives – to be there to guide (if needed) and support, but not to tell them how to do things.
I’m working in my field, once again, and have found a work “home” that suits me so very well. I have a lovely boss that is an excellent match for my style. I’m making friends here at the office and that’s important to me because connections with people will always be one of my primary drivers, even though I’m an introvert.
Growth for me is huge this year and I only see it continuing. I’ve learned so much about myself and it has shifted my perspectives on an almost continuous basis. Naive primary impressions give way to new knowledge, both of self and others. Love is changing how I interact with the world and anger and resentment are giving way to peace. I’m finding new happiness in this beat up body and my self-discovery makes me feel like I will trundle off into the latter half of my life in much better spirits.
Going into a new decade is kind of a wild experience, even though I know it’s just an arbitrary construct built by our human culture. Where each year has been met with smaller hopes, I kind of feel like having a fresh decade means we’re open to bigger dreams and expectations. We can build new ideas into how we’ll proceed from here. Some will fall when new knowledge crops up. Some will be refined. Some will make it to January 2030 when I will be 60 years old.
So in honor of my new theme of love and perspective, here’s my simple plan for the coming decade: Love more. Worry less. Practice gratitude every day. Become a maker once again and learn something new.
That’s it. Nothing concrete, really. Nothing earth-shattering. But I truly believe this next decade will be wonderful. Cheers to shifting perspectives and lots of love!
Moonfire