Thank You 28!

So the end of my 28th year is coming to an end and I am venturing into 29 on Tuesday.  Honestly this past year has been by far one of the best.  Words can't express how grateful I am to the Universe for taking care of me. Almost a year ago we were renting a house I hated. I think that house represented a lot more for me than just it was a crappy house in a crappy location.  I think it was more about how unhappy I was at where I was at in life.  I felt like I was supposed to be somewhere different overall but in retrospect I was exactly where I needed to be at that time. 

I think over the past year I have grown up quite a bit and learned some very important core lessons about life.  

Don't fight the Universe!

I have always been such a big believer that things are meant to work out the way they are supposed to and I feel like this year I stopped fighting that (as much).  I am such a planner.  And although my planning hasn't been chucked out the window I have learned when it is out of control and when it is a good thing.

Unnecessary stress is not worth your time and energy.  Seriously! This year at work we were asked to start teaching 6 classes instead of 5 without any extra pay.  At first I was pissed and so were a lot of other teachers.  Our union even filed a lawsuit.  Then I stopped caring and paying attention.  It wasn't serving me and really those kids in my 6th class don't know any different.  They came to learn (most of them).  I am adaptable and I adapted and I have been busy but much happier since I stopped caring and started focusing on what is important to me. 

Other people’s action/weird behaviors are not always because of you or directed at you (even though it feels like it).  And when people have these crazy behaviors now you know what to expect. 

This has been an interesting lesson and it is one that one of my best friends, Rachel, has always said.  When people do weird things they are just setting the expectation of what you can expect out of them.  Now I probably see students/people doing weird things more than non-teachers do but I know there has been times where I am out in public and someone is rude to me or someone does something that I think is totally ridiculous or dangerous.  Instead of getting mad or hurt I just know what to expect of them now.  It is 99% likely that it is not me, its just how they are. 

Big Events:

We bought a house and I spent a lot of time happily painting and decorating
I started my master's program which is keeping me busy but I really am enjoying it
I learned just recently that part of my tuition would be paid back by my employer. F ya! 
We made the scary transition of Bradley leaving his cush job and moving to a job working with two close friends. Due to this we have financially been much more comfortable
We traveled a bunch together
I have been making art consistently which is something I haven't done for almost 6 years.
Bradley and I strengthened our communication skills and have been making a stronger effort to connect and spend quality time with each other

I am content on my birthday....which is weird.  I have a history of crying on my birthday. I think it has to do with this time of year and looking back at the past year and generally being unhappy with where I am at.   This year I am so excited to see what the next year brings.  I have a feeling that this trend of gratefulness and content will continue. And if for some reason challenging things come my way, as they usually do, I think I am emotionally much more equipped to handle them.