Happy New!

Happy New Year! Happy new decade!

2009 was a pretty good year. I celebrated the inauguration of a president for whom I had caucused in Iowa. Three pairs of good friends got married, and I was able to attend two of the weddings. I rearranged my extracurricular activities to (narrowly) avoid volunteer burnout. I threw a really big reunion party for some really cool folks. I trained for the marathon, and made it through the 18-mile training run before my foot protested. I didn't travel much for fun, but put plenty of work-related miles on the sturdy ole Corolla. I weathered job stress without succumbing to bad attitude. I said goodbye to two most awesome roommates (one two-legged, one four-) and hello to two others. And I met a pretty great guy.

So I say, bring on 2010! Let's see what we can do.

It's fun to start a year from a position of strength. When I think about New Year's resolutions for 2010, my attitude is not so much "How can I fix up my life this year?" but rather, "Given that my life is kinda awesome right now, what are the new directions I want to see myself going this year?" It feels good.

Here are a couple of directions:
- I miss community. I have a little one at home, and a couple of scattered little communities among friends, but no one defining community at the moment. (I'm resisting allowing work to occupy that role-- just not quite healthy, that.) So in 2010, I am going to take some steps toward solidifying a bit of community to call my own. Not sure yet what those steps will be. :-)

- I miss intentionality of lifestyle. So in 2010, I am going to do a better job of structuring my consumption of goods and food, my giving, my time. I am going to pay particular attention to items I buy, and familiarize myself with their origins. I'm going to cook more and buy processed crap less.

- I'm going to declare my foot healed and get back on the workout horse.

- I'm going to get the hell out of Dodge a bit more, whether on weekend trips or international travels.

- I'm going to revel in well-earned time spent with friends, and balance that time with my desire to put 100% into my job.

Yay 2010! Yay new decade!