Best and Worst

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." - albeit cliche, this Dickens' quote seems fitting as I reflect on 2014. There were certainly bests: 

1.  Travel!! (Uganda, Bali with my husband, Yogyakarta with the family, and Utah this summer).

2.  Career (my fantastic spring semester at JIS and starting again with NOVA this fall).

3.  Seeing my children overcome hurdles and find joy.

4.  Renewing friendships. (This is a big one - the one that got me through all the worsts. More on this to come...).

5.  Seeing the miracle of the "Abbe Dream" come true as we purchased land (2.5 acres!) and started building a house.

And there were plenty of "worsts" (I put it in quotes because it's all relative, right?):
1.  Saying goodbye to a place and people I love.

2.  Going from making a good salary to working for pennies.

3.  No more Yuli. Facing the reality of cleaning my own house again has been VERY VERY hard. I've discovered I really do not like cleaning. I know how this sounds. This sounds incredibly spoiled and whiny. But it truly has been a hard transition for me.

4.  My dear, dear mother fighting cancer. I love you Mom!

5.  Living within a budget (cough cough) again - oh the bills, the car break downs, and more bills!

6.  Helping my people adjust to new schools, and having to figure out how to battle my own blues and re-discovering what makes me happy...here.

Back to the #4 of the bests. Truly what has gotten me through all the hard stuff is people.

From the summer with family 

(Luke - your culinary gifts were such a highlight!)

And Katie...I don't know what I would have done without you this summer. Being with you was the BEST!

to Grand Adventures!

 to a Christmas Eve that was filled with beauty, love, and peace...

It comes down to people. Good, amazing people who inspire me. People who are generous with their love and patience. People who contribute to my "bests" and help me get through my "worsts."

I think 2015 will be crazy - selling our house (Fingers crossed!), moving into our finished house (Fingers crossed!), continuing to develop my career (more about this to come), running races, and, of course, spending time with my most favorite people:

Ok 2015...here we go!