Happy New Year!

The first day of 2009 is dwindling down. Do you find yourself loaded down with hopes that this year is better than 2008? I sure do. 2008 was not the best of years for me and personally, I'm kind of glad to be closing the door on it!

I had to work for a couple of hours this morning, then I started doing some housework when I was interrupted by a phone call from a co-worker. We had talked for over an hour last night, and at least that long this morning. Times are tough, life is hard and I wish I had the right words of wisdom to offer the right comfort and a nudge in the right direction. Sometimes, at a certain point, I think we all go through nine yards of hell as a form of tempering. In all honesty, no one else on earth can truly help us get to the other side, but it's a good thing to have someone's hand to hold until you get there. One way or the other, we have to make that journey.

And here is New Year's Day -- the day we pin all our hopes on for fresh starts, new beginnings, "do-overs." That's a lot to pin on a Thursday, isn't it? Especially when there's no trash service?

I did get to continue on with some housework, then a nice nap, then dinner with some friends at their house, who made sure I got my black-eyed peas for luck. Then home, for more housework.

Yes! I can see some improvement for a change! Sometimes housework is so frustrating because it's just moving Object 1 from Point A to Point B or back again. But today I focused on a particular space in my dining room that has been one of the leading sources of emotional discomfort while I've lived here. I had books and dishes stacked up knee-high in this area.

Today, in near tears, I asked myself out loud what it would mean to have this space cleared out of these things -- to reclaim this area to be open, an area I could actually walk in. And I began. I've run two dishwasher loads today and moved books to a bookcase in my living room that has been home to auxiliary groceries that don't fit in my one cabinet in the kitchen.

Things are, happily, much better. I would not give myself a 100. A nice solid 80-85 percent, though. It is no longer a hazardous area, this one particular spot. Yes, there are danger zones remaining, but I have reclaimed a holy space.

I also washed my slippers today. Three pairs, which have been collected helter-skelter by the back door over the past several months. I've either run outside for some quick reason and gotten dirt on them, or they were victims of the Great Soap Spill in the garage last summer. Now, however, they are all clean again and put away in my closet! Yay!!

Here's a Power Point presentation for all of you (you'll need the Power Point Reader, I think.) -- I really found a lot of inspiration in it and hope you will too.

Live Life


Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for reading!