mel and me, originally uploaded by Chupperwidge.

We’re so cute. This was taken around the same time the other one of Tara and me… possibly. It was in the same folder on my computer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. =)

serious, originally uploaded by Chupperwidge.

I think this was when Tara first went to college, but I’m not sure. We were at an Olive Garden, in any case, and it was right after Mom and Dad bought their first digital camera (which I broke a few years later, incidentally). There are a few more pictures like this, I think, but I’m not sure where they are. Hm, I’ll have to look sometime…

So, it’s that time again. Another year has come and gone so quickly. And you know, I think this year might just be the first year I’ve actually been to a New Year’s Eve party. Generally, my New Year’s Eve consists of… well… nothing. Just watching movies or TV until twelve, then sauntering into my parents’ room five minutes before the ball drops. I kind of like doing it with other people. We went to a party at Tara and Dave’s church friend’s house. The guy is amazing- I’m told his house was falling apart when he bought it, and he rebuilt most of it by himself. It’s incredible now, and has some of the tallest doors I’ve ever seen (that might sound like a random thing to mention, but if you only saw them, you’d understand). Anyway, he had a party there so everyone at church could come see his house, play games, eat, and welcome in the New Year. I’ve seen parties like that on movies, but had never actually counted down with twenty other people before. We even toasted with sparkling grape juice, which some of us drank out of bowls because they ran out of cups. Neat experience, and definitely something I’d like to do again! It also helps that I love those people, too. =)

As the party was going on, I found myself getting more and more tired, and I started zoning out more. And when I stare off into space, my mind tends to be quite busy- sometimes. Naturally, what I was thinking about last night the most was the past year, as well as the coming one. Questions popped up. Would I be sorry to see 2007 go? What would 2008 be like? How did I do with my resolutions? And, inevitably: What are this year’s new resolutions?

Last year was perhaps the first year that I could honestly say that no, I wouldn’t be sorry to see it gone. It wasn’t bad, per say, it was just complicated. At any given point, there were about a million places I would have loved to be at the same time. Well, not a million, but several. Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Indiana… the usual places that have meant so much to me over the years. After only a few months into the year, I learned something that will almost certainly be true for the rest of my life; No matter where I am, I will always be missing somebody. This came from the ridiculous number of rather final goodbyes that had to be said, to Melissa (twice), to my dear friends in Hawaii (also twice), to the friends I’d grown so close to at camp. I also came to another conclusion, one that I’ve actually always known. To put it very shortly, goodbyes suck. A lot. 2007 was full of them, which was my main reason that I was happy to see it over with. (There’s also the whole drama with churches quibbling over stupid things and separating over them, but don’t even get me started on that.) It was somewhat of a surprise to come out of it with only a few buckets of tears shed and my sanity as relatively intact as it has ever been. I’ve God to thank for that- it certainly wasn’t me. If left to my own devices, I’d be a self-pitying basket case. But the last thing I learned was that tried and true lesson eventually learned by all humans everywhere- life is short. You never know how long you have in one place, so it’s more important than I ever realized before to make the most of the time you’ve got. And that, dear friends, is how I’d like to begin this year; making the most of the time I’ve been given.

So, 2008. Everyone’s got their speculations about how it’s going to be. Me, I’m not quite sure what to expect, other than harder school work, preparing like a maniac for college, and a heck of a lot of traveling. There are a lot of significant things that will most likely happen- for instance, my seventeenth birthday, the earning of my driver’s license, which I hope won’t take too terribly long, my second year working at Rhodes Grove, several visits to see Dave and Tara, and those sorts of things. I know what plans I’d like to make, but who knows what God has in store? He’s been known to stir things up when He chooses, after all. As far as predictions and plans go, I think I’ll try to take it one day at a time. Key word there: try. It’s hard not to worry over the future when you have everyone telling you what a turning point college will be, and how it will determine what you do for the rest of your life. Still, one day at a time.

Now, the fun part- musing over how I did on last year’s resolutions. On becoming more mature, I think I’m at least on the right track. Most of that is just living another year, and gaining new experiences to help me along my way, but I’m still satisfied. Surprisingly enough, the losing weight part went significantly worse. I actually gained more weight than I’ve lost, even though I’ve been attempting to exercise at least three times a week. I had mad DDR skills there for a while, but in the entire crazy month of December, I haven’t practiced at all and have somehow regressed back into low Standard mode. I can at least say I’ve tried, though. And the last one, well, it’s complicated. It’s my opinion that you can never really get as close to God as you want to be if you’re really serious about pursuing him, since there’s always going to be that separation of Him in heaven and us on the earth. So I don’t suppose I’ve gotten “where I’m supposed to be” if that point doesn’t exist. All that aside, however, it’s been quite a year for spiritual growth. I can honestly say that, I was more interested in reading the Bible than I have been before, and actually looked forward to telling my Father about my day. I’m not saying it lasted all the time, but it’s closer than I’ve been in a long while. These recent weeks haven’t been the best -I tend to do better when things are at least relatively normal and I have somewhat of a schedule every day- but overall, I’d consider myself well along the way. And I’d like to add that the person who help me along with this the most would have to be Mom. She kept me on the right track every time I started to wander in the wrong direction, and prompted me when I forgot because my mind was elsewhere. Thanks, Mama Llama!

Having said all that, and after putting the thoughts that have been floating around in my head for ages into writing, I’ve come to a decision about this year’s resolutions; I’m not making any. It shouldn’t have to take a new year for me to think about the things I should be doing. Besides, maybe if I don’t formally write up what I intend to do, it won’t seem so daunting, and I’ll just do them. Here’s hoping, right?

Happy 2008, folks! I wish you all the best for this year, even though I couldn’t come up with a less cheesy way to say it. =)