End of a Decade.

I'm not a resolution maker, so I won't bore you with a list of things I should tackle this year. I will make goals for my personal life and my work life, and share those with my family for personal and with my team for work. I'm sure you're saying "but a goal and a resolution are the same thing" and my response is I see them as two separate things.  A resolution is something to change or "resolve" in my opinion. To me, a goal is a set plan to achieve an end result that benefits more than just myself. I hope that made sense. Not what everyone else does, but by now, if you've followed me for a bit, you know I don't exactly do things "by the book" in this little life of mine. It's who I am.

This decade was full of many amazing experiences and a few not so great moments that kept us grounded (or "re~grounded" us) and humble. Highlights since 2000:

• birth of our first grandson in 2010
• the birth of our first granddaughter in 2013
• stability in our programming at our charity
• successful funding grants for our charity
• my promotion from a counsellor at our little community hospice to the program manager for the pillar that supports grieving families
• our 30th wedding anniversary ~ special trip
• our 35th wedding anniversary ~ new rings
• travel that took us to new unexperienced places 
• designing then building our dream cottage 
• our first real veggie patch and a real art studio
• more theatre productions and a travelling show
• creating and producing an outdoor music festival

A couple of things that were really hard over the last decade:

• my father-in-law died in 2015 at age 80
• my mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2016
• my cousin died in 2017 in a car accident
• my auntie died in 2018 at age 80 as well
• a relationship ended and another was changed
• a culture shift at our charity ~ still navigating

Clearly, the good outweighed the bad and there are so many more things I could add to the list that enriched our lives over these years. The hard things are hard and some are still a work in progress. This is what life is all about .... embracing the beautiful experiences and navigating the ones that take us to our knees. I'm thankful for both (though I wish some of the hard things could be a bit softer) as they enhance the others and keep us grateful and humble. Good life lessons. And new directions when we hit "roadblocks" with projects. We grow from hard experiences. And cherish the good ones.

I'm ready for 2020. A new decade is always exciting. But I have concerns for the politics that have been less than stellar in other countries. And now our own beloved Canada is going thru some difficult challenges. The economy is changing and we'll need to be extra careful this decade with spending and purchases. Frugal living has always been our path and will continue to be. A thought just popped in to my head that a decade from now, as we enter 2030, we'll be retired and living a different life style. I wonder if we'll still be here, in our little house in the big woods? Or on the tiny island we love so much, in a tinier cottage, overlooking the sea. Will we be welcoming more grandchildren over the next 10 years? We will bring home a new puppy to love? Finish writing our books that are currently sitting? Successfully have 10 years of a music fest under our belts? Will we travel to Europe (dh has never been) or stay closer to home and continue to explore this amazing country? Will our friendships shift? Who will come in to our lives next? What will happen to our tiny charity? So many ideas, so many unknowns. Exciting, isn't it? I'm so very ready for 2020 ....

Are you ready? Are you excited to say goodbye to 2019?

What are your wishes, hopes and dreams for 2020?

~ Chy