Thankful Thursday: A New Year

Come every new year, I can’t help but think of Anne’s comment that “Tomorrow is a new day – with no mistakes in it.”

Undoubtedly, I have already made myriads of mistakes in this New Year. But there is a sense in which a New Year offers a new start-an opportunity to figuratively reset the balance, to not be behind anymore, to start new things.

This week I’m thankful…

…for A “Gold Membership” at the library
Wichita’s public library charges $0.25 for holds – unless you’re a gold card carrier. In that case, you can hold for free. I took advantage of my new gold card status to nab a copy of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle – and my husband was so kind as to pick it up for me before the library closed on New Year’s Eve. So I’m all set to join in with the Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading Challenge and Reading to Know Classic Book Club this year. Yipee!

…for A partner in reading
Sometime last month, Daniel asked me if I would finish the Hunger Games trilogy and if I would please also read Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game so he could show me the movies. I dutifully read Ender’s Game (which was far from a trial), and will get to the rest of the Hunger Games sometime here :-) Daniel also asked me if there were any books I particularly wanted him to read. I didn’t have any in particular – and told him so. But yesterday, as I dramatically announced that “my life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes” (not to worry – this was silliness, not depression, talking), I realized that there was one series I’d at least like him to be familiar with. I said maybe he should watch the movies with me. Daniel asked why he shouldn’t just read the books? He pooh-poohed my suggestion that he might find them too girly and got started right off. “Is this whole series this funny?” he asked me after the first chapter. It’s nice to have a partner in reading.

…for a week with our families
I managed to get the entire week of Christmas off work so Daniel and I headed up to Lincoln for a relaxing Christmas with our families. It was wonderful to veg with our families while working on last minute Christmas presents for the kids (Debbie–Mom and Dad have presents for the girls that they’re going to bring up when they come.) There weren’t as many people home for the holidays as at other times, but I think that ended up making the time we had more restful and allowed for better quality time with the people who were there.

…for coming home
As wonderful as it was to spend time with our families, it was wonderful to return home, to sleep in our own bed, to select clothing from my entire closet. This time was especially nice because I got New Year’s Day off as well – so I could recover from being gone instead of having to jump back into work routines with both feet.

…for the first project of the New Year completed
Since New Year “resets” the balance, I’m calling redoing the silicone seams in our tub a “+1” instead of a long overdue project. We’d initially talked of doing it before we got married (In fact, Daniel may have said something like “I have to get that silicone redone before you can bathe in that tub.”) But, the project kept getting put off for one reason or another. We needed some backer rod to fill the large gap. We needed to remove the old mildewed silicone (a much larger task than we’d initially thought). We needed to leave it a while before we could use the shower again (which meant it needed to be sometime when we could take the task from start to finish without showering-it turned out being around 48 hours.) Daniel’s back went out of whack. But we finally got it done–and it looks great! (Also, the backer rod means there’s no gap to harbor moisture and it’s much more easily cleanable – which means we may be able to kick the mildew once and for all.)

…for plans for quilting get-togethers
It was a quick Facebook exchange. She said I needed to move back to Lincoln so we could quilt together again. I suggested a quilting weekend sometime. My sister suggested a day a couple weeks out. I vetoed that (since I already have been to Lincoln twice in the last two months) and suggested another weekend, a couple months out. My sister confirmed that’d work. My quilting-buddy-turned-sister-in-law confirmed that’d work. I added it to my calendar. It’s nice to already have plans for the next time with the girls.

Last year was a wonderful year, a hard year, a year of many changes. I don’t know what this next year will bring. It will likely have joys and sorrows and changes. But I do have certainty for this New Year. I know that God will be faithful, that He will reveal Himself still more, that He will conform me into His image. So I am excited and thankful for this newest year God has given us.

May He be glorified in this New Year.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.””
~Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)