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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Thoughts about the year...and the decade

A few of the things I've learned...
  • It doesn't always have to be "all or nothing at all". It can be a little at a time and the job still gets done.
  • To be a better friend...to listen more and advise less.
  • I've learned a lot about photography from my blog friends. I was a passable photographer before...now I think I do pretty well.
  • There's a lot about photography I still don't know or get.
  • I've learned so many things about navigating my way around computers and the internet.
  • A little learning can be a dangerous thing.
  • That one doesn't have to die from a broken heart.
  • That I'm damned good at rolling with the punches.
  • To travel alone.
  • That I'm a pretty good writer.
  • That I can write poetry from time to time.
  • A lot about politics.
  • That I have a phobia about commitment.
  • That I seem to have lost my interest in flower gardening somewhere along the way.
  • That getting older has a lot more advantages than disadvantages.
  • That there is a whole world of amazing, talented, gifted, caring women who just happen to be bloggers.
  • That we're all connected in some way.
A few things I've loved....
  • Welcoming five wonderful babies into our lives.
  • Watching our grandchildren grow and learn. Sometimes it amazes me how quick they are.
  • That the two oldest ones "get" sophisticated humor.
  • That the same two think I'm funny.
  • Making enduring friendships through this medium.
  • Fulfilling a childhood dream of staying at a lake cottage just like the one where I went as a child (only much better).
  • Traveling with a friend on a road trip and taking in beautiful and sometimes breathtaking sights. And talking nonstop for ten days.
  • Staying connected with old friends and reconnecting with a few.
  • Being married to the same wonderful and honest man for 37 years.
  • Being able to express my thoughts in words and pictures and the people who look at them don't laugh unless I want them to.
  • Knowing that I can do this blogging thing for the rest of my life, if that's what I choose.
My wish for all of you, dear friends, is that the coming year and decade will be no worse than the last one and hopefully much better than you expect. Happy New Year!

(a photograph I wish I had taken)

38 comments:

Ruth said...

Oh Susie. What a year it's been. I'm so glad I spent some of it with you.

You are right on to say that there are amazing women out there who happen to be bloggers. No labels and boxes! I love it.

I smiled a lot reading your reflections here. I was surprised at only one: the phobia about commitment.

It must be wonderful to have your grandchildren growing up before your eyes and getting to know you as you get to know them. They get you, oh that makes me swoon and long for my own (surprise surprise). To be intimate with my own new flesh and blood, especially since I barely knew my own grandparents. To be able to influence and be influenced by growing children who are not my own children, at a time of life when I am a bit less anal and clueless.

Imagine what this year will be, dear Susie, after so much learning in 2009. I am learning to take things as they come, grateful for every day of the past year.

Happy new one to you and David, and to your precious family. Big big love and admiration. Well done, my dear!

Ruth said...

Oh, I forgot to say I chuckled at your new header. Mind if I go inside instead? :)

Susan said...

Ruthie, one of the most amazing things about this year has been getting to know you and realizing how much alike we are while celebrating the differences. It has been a lovely journey which I hope never ends.

Oh, I do alright with the big commitments that go along with family and friends. It's the little ones that get me...such as reading challenges, photo challenges...things like that. I always end up thinking "What was I thinking?" LOL

On grandchildren....I have a feeling (and I'm pretty intuitive) that it won't be long until you are able to exert your beautifully complex personality and lavish all that welled-up love on some wee ones of your own. I can't wait to see it unfold.

Always wishing you and your lovely family the very best, not just at the New Year, but throughout the years. And I can't wait to continue learning new things through your eyes. ((hugs))

p.s. Please do come inside where it's warm and cozy!

VioletSky said...

You have learned - grown - a lot this past decade!
I'm glad I got to share the past year with you.

But, I'm not sitting in those chairs! I'll stay inside with Ruth and wave to you out the window.

Susan said...

Sanna, laughing and learning with you has been one of the best things about this year! You are my first Canadian friend! You have a wicked sense of humor, my friend, and I love it so much! We think a lot alike, especially in that area.

I'm going to get a fire going and put on the pot for some hot tea...you are very welcome in my cozy warm house any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

Susan said...

Sanna, I forgot to send you good wishes for the coming year! I hope all will be well and peaceful and that you have exciting new experiences! Happy New Year!

Don said...

Thanks for sharing! It is always interesting to see cool people unlock their personal observations. I suspect you have a wonderful year ahead of you!

BTW, the chairs look very appealing, and it would do everybody some good to have an experience sitting outside in that much snow!

NKP said...

Wow, that is a lot to be thankful for and proud of. Very inspiring.
Happy New Year to you as well!

VaNeSsA said...

Susan - I LOVE YOU!!

P.S. I also LOVE your new header. Now you've got me going - I'll have to change mine too!!

:)V

Wanda..... said...

I like your list of things learned and loved...glad I found your blog a few weeks ago Susan...look forward to the new year with you and your friends here...a wonderful sounding bunch! I'm from a village of wonderful bloggers too!
Happy New Year Susan!

Sandy Nawrot said...

You always manage to stop me in my tracks and make me think! We've had a fun year, have we not? I feel so blessed that we have had a chance to become online friends and look forward to many more years!

Susan said...

Don, you're a big part of why I love your wife so much! You must be a good guy, because you were smart enough to choose her. That sounded kind of strange, but you know what I mean.

I hope you have more time in 2010 to write more posts. I miss seeing them pop up on my screen

Happy New Year! You have a great partner to spend it with! :)

Susan said...

Natashya, that's what happens when you wake up at the ungodly hour of 3:00 a.m.! Thinking ensues! Then, of course, one must get out of bed and write it down before it flits away.

A bountiful and delicious New Year to you!

Susan said...

Vanessa, you are such a darling girl...I love you right back! You are most definitely one of my blog friends to whom I referred when I mentioned "talent" and "gifted".

I hope the New Year holds many blessings and much love for you and your lovely family, especially that little red-haired sweetie of yours.

Can't wait to see what you come up with for your new header! No pressure, of course! :)

Susan said...

Wanda, I'm excited to have you in my blog neighborhood! And nearly in my back door! What a treat it has been visiting you. I look forward to learning more about you and reading your wonderful posts.

My blog friends are stellar and I hope to visit some of yours and maybe add them to my list as well.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Susan said...

Dear Sandy, you make my days brighter with your writing! You make me laugh, literally, out loud! And you wear me out with your whirling dervishishness! :D If there was ever a Type A personality, it's you, girl! Without all the mean and nasty parts though! It always makes my day when I see your name in my comment section, because I know you will be clever, witty when called for, and understanding and empathetic if the need arises.

Bless you, dear friend, for being a part of my life. Someday we WILL meet!

I wish you the happiest, the happiest New Year!

Cora said...

Nice reflections on the past.

I love the blue butterflies...gorgeous!

Looking forward to 2010!

Char said...

oh I'm so lucky to count you as one of my friends that happens to be a woman blogger - thank goodness for this cyberworld of ours.

love the reflections on lessons - i too keep focusing on the lessons learned.

California Girl said...

Your reflections are solid. I don't blame you for wishing you'd taken that photo. It's lovely.

Like the new masthead and remark "sit a spell..."

Happy New Year!

Cindy said...

I love your lists! and that snow is beautiful, but not sure I could sit in those chairs for a spell, even though they do look very regal sitting there.

I have so enjoyed blogging (two years now!) and facebooking with you this year, and hope we can continue for many years to come.

Wishing you a very happy new year Susan!

kayerj said...

profound!

Happy New Year.

ds said...

Oh, Susan, I'm so happy to have met you this year through Ruth! You are one of the wisest, most wonderful people: I adore your "reflections," your humor, your photos (esp of the grandkids; they are so lucky & if they don't know it yet, they will quite soon--the older two already do)....
Big hugs to you and my very best wishes for a wonderful 2010 to you and all your family!

CottageGirl said...

I find myself nodding in agreement as I read your list of what you've learned about yourself throughout the year and the decade, and what you've loved.
I think we are in about the same place in our lives as we take begin to take things a little slower and enjoy more of our friends (blogger friends included!), family and learning new things.
Don't you think we live in an amazing time? To be able to create images and write about them and THEN to be able to share them with like-minded people all over the country and the world is mind-boggling ... a real blessing our mothers never had the chance to experience.
I wish only good things for you, my dear friend, and for your family for this coming year as well as the new decade! Many blessings!

CottageGirl said...

LOVE your header, too! But like everyone else I'll come in and curl up by the fireplace!

Susan said...

Cora, I'm so glad you have become part of my little world here! I hope to learn more about you in the coming year. Thank you very much for the good wishes! The same comes back to you.

Happy New Year!

Susan said...

Dear Char, I am the lucky one to have found you! Every little thing you write is so uplifting and inspiring to me. You have often made me feel much better when I'm not in the best of moods. You are probably the most upbeat person I know. I'm so glad that things are finally going your way!

Hugs to you and a very Happy New Year!

Susan said...

Cali Girl, I always find something interesting at your place, whether it's a beautiful photo taken by your talented husband, or a political rant, or a slice of what's going on in your life. I'm enriched by your writing.
Thank you.

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Susan said...

Cindy, I think you're my longest-running follower! I enjoy your posts so much...from your delicious-looking recipes, to your lovely daughter, to your beautiful photography par excellence. You've got it all, girfriend! And best of all, you have chickens! You rock!

Happy New Year to you and your family!

Susan said...

Kaye, thank you! Happy New Year to you, too! May it be mystical and magical!

Susan said...

Dear ds, that happiness goes both ways! When I think of you, I think of a gentle rain like the one on your 'third-storey window'. You have a soft way about you, I can tell. I so enjoy coming to your place for a visit. Sometimes you are on a much higher plane than I am and I don't feel as if I can comment intelligently, but know that I'm there, reading and listening and hoping I asborb some of your intelligence and gentle spirit. Thank you for your kind words and for being my friend.

Blessings to you and your family in the New Year!

Susan said...

Ahhh, dearest Deb (CG), don't you feel as if we've already met in person? We just have that connection that is so strong. I knew the moment I saw your lovely cottage that you would be just as warm and inviting as it is. I think that is the reason you chose it to be your home.

We have so many things in common that I'm thinking we might have been sisters in a former life. Someday, and I hope it isn't too far in the future, we will meet and have a huge gabfest!

It would have been so awesome if our mothers had been able to connect the way we do! What a difference it might have made in their lives!

Thank you for all the kindness you have shown me this year. I intend to be friends with you for a long time.

Happy, happy New Year to you and your wonderful family!

CottageGirl said...

Sweet Sister Susan,
Your words touch my heart, my dear!
Maybe we were sisters in a former life ... like the March sisters in Little Women!
Long live the March girls!

Kathleen said...

What wonderful reflections you have shared from 2009...thanks always for making me think about things in a new way! Happiest of new years to you and your family!

Susan said...

SweetCG, long live the March girls!!

Susan said...

Kathleen, you are so very welcome...to my thoughts, and to visit whenever you get the notion! Happy, happy New Year to you and yours as well!!!

Anonymous said...

I love that picture and I'll just pretend that you took it :) It sounds like you've had a very eventful decade. I'm so glad that I found your place in blogland and I look forward to chatting more in 2010 :)

prashant said...

Imagine what this year will be, dear Susie, after so much learning in 2009. I am learning to take things as they come, grateful for every day of the past year.

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Susan said...

Stacy, I'm a good pretender, too! ;) Yes, the first decade of this century had it's good times and it's bad times and it's terrible, horrible times. Things I loved and things I'm still getting over, if that's possible.

I hope that the next decade will be a little more balanced.

I'm really happy that you found me, too! It's a small world here in this vast medium. Here's getting to know you better in 2010! Happy New Year!