Year 3: DC! (And no, I still haven't hung my pictures)

Junior year is over. Again.

It's true. I'm at the end of three years -- THREE YEARS! -- in Washington D.C. today and wondering a) where the hell the time went, and b) why it's not eight years given all that's happened.

I don't know about you, but junior year in both high school and college were roller coaster years for me. I had a lot of laughs and a lot of heartache, new adventures and new fears, personal triumphs and personal losses. 2010 -- my third year in DC -- was no different.

Let's take a look, shall we?

* Changed jobs ... again! This time on my terms and at my pace. Proved I still have what it takes. Also proved that I'm tired of job hunting and would like to stay put for awhile.

* Grew with Fella! We're going the (long-)distance and keeping up lurve across the miles. I can't say it's easy, but I can say it's worth it.

* Loved my peeps! And in some cases, lost them too. 2010 brought weddings, funerals, pregnancies, grad school, international moves, and a whole heap of transition. Much of it is wonderful. Some of it is sad. In either case, I took each shift straight in the heart.

* Wrote! My picture book manuscripts are well under way and I hit Prayer #150 just this past week. (Read the whole prayer series to date here.) At this rate, I'll be published in 2052. If I'm lucky. But who cares?? I'm having a ball and loving that I'm a writer who's actually writing. Finally.

* Hung my pictures! LIES. I haven't. I framed a couple and stacked them against my wall. The rest are waiting for love and attention. They will probably not receive it any time soon.

When such liminal years end (or rather, evolve into the next phase), they always leave me tired and a bit worn-out. I question if I have the energy to live fully in the next year. I wonder if I should take a break, pull back, maybe take up drinking crocheting.

And maybe I should. A little less travel, a little more reading, etc. Still, there would be no less loving. No less caring about the wonderful people who move through my life in a meaningful, inspiring way. No less focus on discovering who I'm meant to be and what I'm contributing to this busy rock.

Otherwise, it would be a pretty boring senior year.

But ... on the upside, I'd finally have the time to hang my pictures.

Hmm.

Nah.

I'll stick with living.