Life Changers

Last year was a year of Major Changes for me. Little did I know that it would pale in comparison to 2012!

2011 was a year of endings. I said goodbye to my full-time job, my iron-tight grip on this little thing called “control”, and my beloved grandmother. Well, both grandmothers, actually. It was one of those times when things were absolute hell while you were going through them, but once you made it across to the other side, you can see that it was just what you needed.

I can ramble on about everything I've learned in the past few months (and will no doubt do just that in other posts), but I wanted to resurface here for just a moment and reconnect.

So, on to 2012. What have I been up to? Here's a brief recap:

•                     I joined the world of the non-self-employed, at least temporarily. I've been working at a technical school, filling in for 2 separate employees, since January. So this meant getting up before the birds (literally), and showering before 3 p.m. My first stint there was a joy; the second had a huge learning curve that made me very nervous. My second “gig” ended about a week ago.

•                     My boyfriend and I took our very first “just us” vacation—a 9-day cruise to Bermuda, Boston, and Newport, RI. To say it was a “blast” is an understatement.

•                     We got engaged on the above mentioned cruise.

•                     I took a very long break from writing, both due to burnout and time limitations. At this time last year my projects were about quantity, which led to burnout. Around Christmas I made a conscious effort to go for quality instead, which meant dropping a few clients, but I'm hoping to focus that time and energy on fewer, bigger, more lucrative projects.

•                     I used my non-writing time to do what I've been wanting to do for about 5 years—use the bulk of my free time to read. Without guilt! So worth waiting for.

•                     I started practicing yoga. Now I understand what all of the positive buzz has been about. Incredible.

I've spent much of this year continuing to de-clutter—my energy, time, and priorities. My goal is to have a less cram-jammed schedule and spend more time on what I enjoy—family, travel, literature, and writing, of course. It's been an interesting process, but a very necessary one.

What about you? What changes have you made in the last few months? Okay, several months?