January thoughts

Hello to everyone. I have truly neglected my blog lately, but the new year is here and I have lots of stuff that I am wanting to do. So I wanted to let you all know where I was and what's going on. Resolutions become boring, but the new year is always a time to re-assess where we are at and remind ourselves of where we are going and what new paths we might wish to take. With that said, I have two new things that I will be working on this year, well really three, I guess. First of all the indirect thing is that later this month, I will be helping to welcome a beautiful new baby girl into the family. I am looking forward to it and with the birth of my second grandchild, family dynamics will change and everyone will sort of settle into a new order. Change is a good thing and our family has done a fair amount of it lately. In the past year, we have welcomed Chad into our family, on an official basis. We have considered him family for quite a while now, and are so happy to have him here. Leon has closed a business and we have settled into the 8 to 5 routine that so many people live. Not a change for me, but a substantial change for Leon. It has been a year of some difficult times and some very joyous times. All in all, I am very grateful for everything I have and all the people in my life. I am truly blessed and consider the hard times as character building experiences. What is the saying, "into each life a little rain must fall". Also it certainly helps to be able to look back and assess your life, rather than trying to make sense of everything as it happens.

One of the new things that I will be doing this year. First of all, in my attempt to become more active in our church, I am starting a new group called "Between the Lines". It is a Christian fiction book club. We will be meeting once a month and my first meeting is next Tuesday (please bow your head right now and say a prayer for me). I am a bit nervous, but also excited and hopeful that it will work. My vision is to create a group that runs itself, is close-knit and enjoys gentle or christian fiction books. I would like to meet in a home environment or a 'coffee house' place - someplace comfortable and easy. If anyone has suggestions for books, let me know, although the more I explore, the more I find that there is a lot of stuff out there.

The second thing that I will be working on is a change or addition to my business training. In looking toward the future, it is clear that retirement is not too far away. I do not think it would be healthy for me to totally retire, although I certainly look forward to cutting my hours. Anyhow, I am exploring the possibility of going into an accounting field (I know, boring!), to transition into. I really do enjoy working with numbers and making things balance. My manager has helped me to network with two accountants outside the bank and there are 2 accountants that work as underwriters at the credit center. It is a new skill and I will need more training, so all of that is open for me to explore. Imagine my retirement with a little accounting business on the side. Pretty cool, eh. My options are open and I have lots of ideas about how to proceed. I'll check back with you next January and let you know how I did.

Regarding the picture. I found this picture on a "Stumble" site and fell in love with it. Also, I know my background is still Christmasy, but the site I use for my backgrounds is down temporarily, so I will not be able to change it until it comes back up.