The Verdict: Was 2010 "DIfferent"?

I know this blog only happens on the few and far between days, but I do like that I now have a running track record of New Year's resolutions and outlooks as well as reflection on the past year. I know my reader subscription isn't high, but knowing that I put those goals and thoughts in writing in a public place does give some extra pressure to be at least a little accountable.

I find it very, very strange that I wrote what I did last January when looking ahead to 2010. I sensed the changes of that year without really know what any of it would be and sure enough, 2010 was a very different year. I won't deny that a large credit of that goes to my going from 24 1/2 years as a single lady, to, without hesitation or doubt, being in a serious relationship; however at the time of that post I had no idea it was coming--even if it was only a little over a week from beginning.

What made 2010 so different?

• I went from still being a 25-30 hour a week employee to a 50-60 hour a week employee that is usually still working into the evenings and to some extent on weekends.
• I went from Single Sally to Relationship Rita.
• I went from living directly across the street from half of the man clan and with my 2 college roommates to living on the far end of the city with my cousin and lifelong best friend.
• I went from going out to a bar, hanging out late with friends on the town, or drinking with friends at least one night of the weekend to rarely seeing the inside of a bar and 1 a.m. on a weekend being late.
• I went from spending all my time in town minus the occasional trip home or to Lex to spending probably 70% of my weekends outside of Louisville
• I went from having my younger brother and one cousin in this city as my only relatives to having 4 cousins living here, 1 living with me, both brothers here and my sister-in-law.

Other changes really sprang from those listed above. I see my Louisville friends much, much less--not because I don't love them all. Living with Holly on the far side of Louisville, as well as spending the majority of my weekdays being exhausted by work, then spending the weekend with Jon who no longer lives here, keeps me away from "free time". I've also spent more time at home in The Valley, much because Jon thoroughly enjoys spending time there as well, but also because I know my sites are set on being there in due time and while I may not be living there now, I can spend time doing the things that will one day be a part of my daily life. We cleaned out the main barn to make it more usable. We helped family split lots of winter wood. We also began planning for putting in a second garden.

I've started eating better. While my running and working out has fallen to the wayside (so little time when you're driving and working so much!) I've started buying more whole, natural and fresh foods and actually cooking. (It helps when you have a boyfriend with allergies who is safer cooking his own food than trusting someone else.) Holly and I don't even have a microwave in the apartment so that keeps us away from frozen foods. Additionally Mom has introduced the family to Juice Plus which has become a part of my daily source of nutrients.

I just had a phone call tonight with a friend I hadn't talked much with in the past couple of months. After catching up a bit, we realized that our lack of hanging out was much to do with our lack of "going out". We agreed that not going out and not drinking was much more of the "easy" option these days. We agreed we must be growing up.

Growing up does not have to be a bad thing. If we never grow and change we stay in the same place forever and too much of any one thing and you'll get bored of it. Thanks to "growing up" I have done a lot of things in 2010 that I wouldn't have gotten to do previously. I accomplished my 3 year goal and did visit Gui and Carla in Brazil. Instead of the typical bar scenes of the past, friends came together to do things like camping trips, lake trips and road trips. I've gotten to see many of my nearest and dearest friends get married this past year and one of my very best friends is pregnant--all joys I would not experience without growing up.