Looking Back, Looking Forward

It’s my Birthday today.

As I flipped through the pages of my Leah-ness book, I found the entry from September 25th, 2010:

“Dear Leah,

Tweny-two was the first year of your own making, and it went so well. 23 is not set in stone; no contracts have been signed. You can do whatever you want to do. You can go live abroad again, or find a 9-5 job (Landell?), or live in Maine, or write a book, or build a log cabin, or buy a boat, or build a boat, or give up boating altogether. Really, you can do whatever you want.

The catch —

For there is always a catch —

Is that one year from now, when you sit down to review your last 12 months, when you find a blank page and a pencil and begin to write…

The words should rush to fill the page
A smile should light your soul
Memories should flash across your mind

And you should be able to say that every decision you made, every single choice you faced, you made the decision that brought you one step closer to your dreams. Where you maybe are now? Please??

Crush your dreams Leah, but enjoy the journey too.

Love,

Yourself”

And today? What can I say today?

I can say that as I wrote the review of this year, the words truly did rush to fill the page. I worried that it would be the “sacrifice year” of “office work” and “routines” and “the dreaded 9-5”.

What I found instead was a year of growth, of enjoying the difference my 8 hours a day could make to the dreams of others; the fruitfulness of living at home, without a car, to the balance of my “boat fund”; the joys of weekends and bagged lunches and Bikram yoga and paid vacations and boat-hunting and chasing goals and working hard for something important to me, and discovering that not only did that make it possible, it could be part of the fun too.

One year ago, I knew I wanted a boat and a sailing future — now, today, I am excited to know that Brio is waiting for us, that this has really happened, and that despite all predictions to the contrary, I enjoyed the journey as much as the destination. Even the damn dress code 🙂

So thank you, Leah, for making this a year to be proud of.

And if you are reading this one year from now:

Remember to appreciate what it took, to laugh at the memory of it all, to stop and breathe and tingle with the wonder and the delight and the fullness of it all, and to generously give of your heart and love and spirit.

Above all Leah, enjoy this year — and live with Brio.

Love,

Your newly-24 self.

Making a wish for the coming year

 

Celebrating with my amazing family


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