Anniversary!

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of when we were able to move the guys to Columbia, and start rebuilding our life together, as a family.

I won’t go through the story again—I’ve described it on this blog before. But J and I, mainly through sheer force of will and some extraordinary luck, were able to redirect our path and focus our attention on what matter most to us—our family, our spiritual and emotional growth.

I know how lucky we are.

I wanted to take just a moment to reflect on the great achievements of this past year. There were hardships, sure, and we are nowhere near done improving ourselves (who is?), but sometimes a girl just has to sit back on her laurels and reflect on how much better it has been in the past year:

J went back to work. Not his dream job, but the physical act of going to work every day does so much more for that man than can ever be imagined.

K participated in track, and made many friends, despite his conviction to hate Columbia, to never make friends again, and to stick it to the man by making poor grades (which, by his definition, are Bs and B-s).

Anthony found his love of learning and thrived. He also found his love of baseball, and being part of a team.

J got creative once again and went to pottery class. The mastermind is at work once more.

I started on my road to recovering my health, which has included yoga, meditation, ballet, and muscle strengthening. I am happy to report that after four weeks of active weight loss attempts, I have lost 8.2 pounds!

I started writing again, and last week alone (quite a feat, considering how busy it was) wrote a 16 page short story for the fun of it.

K became curious and cognizant of the world around him—particularly when it comes to politics and current affairs.

We pampered ourselves in ways we had not done in years—laying around watching movies on cable (CABLE!) on a Sunday afternoon, snuggling up to read books together. I even went to the spa one morning with my mother.

We have been able to focus more attention on building healthy, long-standing relationships with family and loved ones.

We cook amazing dinners, and relish in eating together as a family, and washing the dishes as a family.

I have found sound footing in my professional life, and feel respected for my work and ideas.

I am so very grateful for the year just passed, and I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for the one about to begin…