Looking Back

I'm a bit slow in posting this, but it's been a difficult post to write. By nature I am an optimist - usually seeing the glass half full. In fact, I've often wanted to be more of a pessimist as I've thought that expecting things to fall apart, and then having them fall apart, would be much easier than expecting a good outcome and then having things fall apart. The problem? Well, there is this side of me that knows we usually get what we expect, and if I expect bad things to happen, guess what? They usually do!

Back to my post ... 2007 was an extremely challenging year for me as an individual, as a mom and as a wife. I didn't want this reflective post to be a downer as each of my challenges has, to some extent, resulted in a positive change in my life. At the same time, it was important to me to be honest - sometimes life sucks and about the best you can hope for is to just get through it.

A few of the highlights ... and the lowlights ...

2007 was the year I went from this

To this

Yes, I am gloating - losing 70 lbs was an amazing goal for me to attain. What, you might ask, could be negative about this? My husband was far more comfortable with my appearance, and my attitude, at the beginning of 2007 than he is with me now. My weight loss has resulted in some challenges in our relationship, both for him and for me.

I've also discovered that after 40, the body does not quite bounce back to it's original form after significant weight loss. Not only do I have to struggle daily to maintain the weight loss, there is much firming and toning work to be done.

2007 was the year that my husband secured a new corporate position where his skills and knowledge are being recognized and rewarded. Unfortunately, this position came about FOUR months after he walked out of his previous high-paying, corporate job without having a job to go to. Four months of unemployment, without being eligible for unemployment benefits, put us in a financial position that we are now only beginning to climb out of.

2007 was the year that I finally secured my dream job - the first position I ever held that was actually in my degree field. It promised to meet every expectation I had and was the realization of a goal I set when I finished my degree in 2006. Yet just four moths into the position, I was told I wasn't a good "fit" and now I am questioning if all of the hours I put in to finishing my degree were in vain and if my degree is a good "fit."

2007 was an odd year for me. The highs were amazingly high, and the lows were extremely dark. I want to look back on the year and celebrate the achievements, yet I don't want to let the lessons go unrecognized.

I know that 2008 is a clean slate. Sure, there is some baggage that must be carried in, but it doesn't have to be stacked up in front of me as an insurmountable obstacle. I start this year with the realization that there is balance in all things - a price to pay for the failures as well as the successes. I look forward to negotiating that price.