December 30, 2010

acceptance and the obligatory new years post....(# 700)


totally cute from:  YeeHaw (on etsy)

as i end this year...this 2010...i wanted to say first that i am grateful for each of you with me. the talkers, the listeners, the headnodders and "uh-huh"ers. whether you say something or not, i'm grateful that you entered my little world. i do love you like biscuits and gravy - and for a southern gal that's a heck of a lot!! xo

as 2010 winds down and we anticipate 2011 - i wish you all peace and joy and hope you find what you're wishing for in the new year. and as you are searching - i wish you comfort and rest, because sometimes the journey is hard - i wish you trampolines and sidecars, because sometimes the journey is slow - i wish you lemonade and tea cookies, because sometimes the journey is taxing and exhausting - and i wish you dandelion seeds and balloons, because sometimes, when we're lucky and try really hard, the journey is fun and happy.

for me...well, it’s been a rough three years…that is no joke folks. and i could probably add to that it’s been a rough four years. mom’s illness, mom’s dead, the loss of a career, the finding my footing in another career. the last few years have tried to put their stamp on me.  and I say that not out the “poor me” aspect….though there were times that i have whined, “why me…why can’t life just be easy for once?” but, then again, i find that I’m most challenged and satisfied when I have to make my own way. when I’m not doing that, i find that i’m bored and complacent. *shrugs* maybe it’s the way i’ve programmed my life….maybe it’s too hard to change that now.

2010 was about that recovery. pulling myself up by the bootstraps kindly handed to me by an old friend and the dedication of my life to learning a new career, in a new setting, with a new cast of co-workers. and as i look back over the year i have floundered. due to circumstances out of my control -- i feel as though nothing much was accomplished. this is a difficult feeling - while acknowledging that it was out of my control, it still felt like a strike out. so...what will 2011 be about?

that leads me to "my" word. just a few letters, keystrokes…. a word that everyone has to for themselves. should I be a follower? do what the cool kids are doing? in the past when I’ve picked a word, that word has a bad habit of taunting me – being elusive and difficult to reconcile. so…”believe”, “soar” --- words like that are not good matches for me. i think i might be a bit too practical and a shade too pragmatic for the magical words (though I really want to believe in magic…yes, I do) therefore my word this year is acceptance. accepting my life “as is” and that changes to that are made through hard work and dedication to the “something” instead of just the hoping and dreaming. (walk the talk)

say it with me....ahhhh-ceptance....(emphasis on the "ahhhhhhhhhhh" i hope)

24 comments:

  1. I love your word...and the fact that you have "accepted" your past and all that it dealt you. It has made you...well...you! And thats a good thing. Just know that you are exactly where you are meant to be!
    Many blessings for you in the new year my friend, and may each day be easier that the last. Loves~
    Oh...I'm still working on my word..... ???? hummmm????

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  2. Char -- terrific as always. so nice to read real, heartfelt words like yours. there are not enough adjectives to describe how impressed i am with your post. perhaps b/c we've gone through similar difficulties and struggles (a very real journey that we're both still on) that i identify so readily with your blog (and been impressed with your photos) the last couple of years. whatever it is, you are speaking -- when you launch those words and images into the ether -- to so many of us. and connecting. and inspiring yourself and us to be, well, better, improved, made whole.

    all the best for a terrific 2011, my friend.

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  3. btw, one more (obnoxious, i know) note: i LOVED your entire series in November on being thankful. thank YOU for that effort. great words and great photography.

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  4. Hi Char,

    Thank you for the comment re: my recent LOVE illustration and yes I will have giclee prints of this piece available next week in my etsy shop.

    http://www.etsy.com/shop/29blackstreet

    I have been thinking about choosing a word as well. 2010 was a year of big change for me - some fantastic and some very challenging. When I read your word "acceptance" for 2011 I instantly thought

    "Acceptance" now that is a very good & kind word
    My word in-process at this point (less than 48 hrs away) is "focus" - how lame a word is that ??

    I do feel scattered though ... thanks again. I'll let you know when the prints are ready.

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  5. Char,
    I can so identify with this one . It has been a rough four years or for that matter 9 years for me.I lost my mom ,dad and a baby and also struggled finacially but I have accepted what I can't change and I hope that I can Nurture new growth in my soul in the coming year.

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  6. char--

    you're beautiful and if it's any consolation, you seem to be as far from floundering as anyone i know. so happy to know you here in the blogosphere. i know that one day when we meet (notice i say when, not if), we will be instantly old friends.

    i wish you all the best in the new year...because it really is a new beginning, despite just being another day on the calendar.

    happy new year!
    xox,
    /j

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  7. This is amazing. I just wrote a post on my blog about picking a word. I couldn't remember where I had read about someone having picked one in the past (I'm fairly new to your blog). I picked "order" after several difficult years. I really love your word. Good luck to you in the coming year. I'll be back more often.

    Sharon

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  8. I love the word you chose and think it's a perfect one. Love the sign, too. Happy New Year to you, my friend. Let's hope it's a good one.

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  9. happy new year.. you are a very special lady and I relish each visit here..blessings friend

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  10. You are fabulous!!! 2010 was a hard year for me...but I found myself this year. The journey brought me home, if that makes sense. So I choose a magical word this year, believe. I felt like I lost the meaning of believe in 2010. And this year, I welcome the magic back into my life. I believe it will be a good year for us both. xoxo

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  11. Char, I feel like I know you since you were one of the first blogs I followed. I have followed you through a lot and have always marveled at how strong you have been. I wish you the very very best year ahead. You only deserve the best. hugs.

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  12. What better word? Let's walk this Acceptance Road together, accepting what is. The other "A" word -- accomplishment -- is much less important, I think!

    I look forward to a New Year with you.

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  13. You know, I'm not too sad to see 2010 go ... I didn't really love it. But there were glimmers--and one of them was "meeting" you!

    Acceptance is good; but I'm gonna go ahead and wish a little magic to come your way...

    HAPPY New Year to you!

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  14. It wouldn't much matter what "words" you chose, because you manage (always) to say them so very well. You touch me, you make me smile, you show me strength, and you offer me wisdom in your posts that strikes a cord every time. I wish you peace and acceptance for 2011. Happy New Year!
    Brenda

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  15. you know i adore you, right ?

    and i love how wide eyed open you were when writing this post....WOW !

    and even though you seem a bit squeamish, i'm going to throw some fairy glitter your way anyway, just for fun. 2011 will be fun. and better. i just know it will. and i don't even get along with glitter, remember ?

    and ummm, i think the beach is calling your name. yep, i'm sure i heard it earlier today......chhaaaaar.......chaaaarrrrrr.......come on and seee me.

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  16. ...loved reading this...whew...we have had our share of "not-so-good-days" here this year too...
    but we're still here...as i come by to visit i am sending you warm new year greetings....and best wishes for a peaceful year.

    sending love,
    kary and teddy
    xxx

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  17. that is a great choice. especially when said with the emphasis!! :) much love and hugs to you. hoping your 2011 is a happy one.

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  18. You have certainly traveled a bumpy road the past few years, and I'm so happy for you that the road's a little smoother and a little wider for you now. Let's pray that the coming year will be kind to you and to us all.

    Happy New Year, dear Char, and may many blessings come to you. It's an honor to know you.

    Much love,
    Susan

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  19. You have such an eloquent way of saying things that I feel and yet don't quite know how to put as wonderfully as you do and you know, you go through life and you hear a saying that just sticks? Well, I love you like biscuits and gravy is going to stick like....well, gravy to me! Loved that!
    I hope 2011 will be easy for you, a year where you don't struggle as much but rather just enjoy...then again life would be rather boring if everything was easy all the time, so I'll leave this wish and a warm hug for a fabulous new year! All the best from Norway :-)

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  20. wishing you a marvelous new year, my dear. you really deserve it. thank you for your constant honesty + inspiration :)

    xo Alison

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  21. Happy, happy New Year dear Char! Acceptance is a perfectly wonderful word to focus on... I hope that everything that happens to you throughout the year are all very easy to accept!

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  22. i never fit in with the cool kids, and that's alright by me. i am nodding, my head. 'cause i love your word... loving on you too.
    xo
    ps: bought a shirt for my kiddo for xmas from that shop. ; )

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  23. ha ha now that was something, i've been reading all these blogs where people are choosing words and i didn't just want to jump on the band wagon either, but it made me think if i chose a word for 2011 what would it be....and i chose acceptance to, because i realised this year that for the last 13 years to be accepted by the people i was with i had to be someone other than who i am i didn't accept myself so i am silently choosing acceptance for myself too.
    Char all the very best in 2011 i really do hop this is a great year of change and prospering and acceptance for you oh and me
    hugs
    xo

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  24. Hii Char and Happy New Year. I've been away too long. What a great post this is. What a great word. I think I struggle with those magical words too. I chose "thoughtful" as my word this year. I want to strive to be more thoughtful to others, but also want what I do in my work, and for myself, to be more thoughtful.
    wishing you the most wonderful year of your life in 2011.
    thank you for being my friend.

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i feel as if each comment was between us as we sat and sipped something warm....i love to hear what you're thinking.