Happy New Year 2019

Welcome 2019!

I don't know about you, but I have never been so happy to see a year close. 2018 was a rough one on multiple fronts for the Grishams. Between my battle with hypothyroidism and Andy's with a quadruple bypass, we are looking forward to 2019 showing us a lot of love. Before it starts, I do have to ramble a bit.

A few weeks ago, I sat down and started thinking about my goals for 2019. After much consideration,  my vision board is filled out. It is equally filled with my hopes and goals for me and Andy, my family, spiritual self, and work.

At the root of all of it are the heart and love. In the physical sense (health), the home (relationships); working on my servant's heart (community), and putting my heart into my work (purpose).

Do you feel grateful and blessed? I do. Every day. Feeling exhausted, experiencing brain fog, losing sleep, struggling with weight gain and staying excessively stressed out was a normal way of life for several years. Those never-ending symptoms going undiagnosed for several years opened the door for self-doubt and did a number on my self-confidence. I worked ten times harder than most because I knew once I was tapped out, I was done for the day. Until you've gone through it, it's difficult to explain. Medicine can control it to some extent but it never goes away. Thankfully, God put a man in my life who was there for me 100% no matter how bad I felt. As I started to get stronger, it was my turn to be there for him. We are both greeting 2019 with a different state of mind.

Both of us have always been hard workers. We don't mind investing sweat equity to make our dreams come true. We are getting a lot of loose ends tied up on the home-front with plans of Andy retiring this year. He has invested almost 44 years working in a foundry. He has had a hard physical job in a tough place to work. He deserves it. I'm so excited for the both of us. While he was home recovering from his surgery, we both decided we liked him being there. With the exception of the limitations placed on him by his doctor, it was so nice for him to not have to rush, rush, rush. I have too much of that in my life and he keeps me grounded.

Several things have come to my attention that are pushing me to work on improving my servant's heart. My nature is very empathic. I will do whatever I can in my power to help my fellow man. Seeing someone struggle just kills me. Being an equal extrovert/introvert, doing work behind the scenes is no problem. You can count on me to work hard in whatever I do once I get there.  Being in large groups of people is what I struggle with. That is an improvement I truly will be putting my heart into.

Finally, my purpose in life. We've all grown up hearing, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. As a child, I knew I had to be creative. I jokingly said, "I knew in kindergarten I wanted to color for a living." I've gone through a lot of changes the past several years. None of them because I had to, but WANTED to. My internal compass pointed me in several directions and caused me to wonder when and if I would ever arrive at my final destination. Am I there yet? I don't know. Here is what I do know. Every change prepared me for my next challenge. Those experiences opened my eyes to upcoming situations and people in my life.

Twenty-four years working for the same printing company;  six years of operating my own graphic design business; one year in the financial/insurance business marketing and planning events, three years of high-end packaging, a year at the library marketing and coordinating events led me to the utility industry??? Thirty-six years later and my life is about electric power and internet. I know, right? Who would have thought it. What does this have to do with creativity? Fortunately for me, there is just enough of that to keep it interesting.

Keep your eyes wide open! 2019 is going to be full of life-changing events and I'm ready to embrace every single one.