365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, and 31,536,000 seconds gone…and on this final day of 2016, I thought I would recap highs and lows of 2016. But before I do, I actually have to start at the end of 2015, so you can truly understand and appreciate the fierceness that came with 2016.
2015 closed with our house on the market, pregnant with our 3rd child (and yes, for those that like to ask, we do and have known what causes that—people are so funny), and my job in the state of a hot mess that I was determined to fix by February 1 (yes, I literally set a date-even confided this date to my wise friends/spiritual mentors)…little did I know there was a whole ‘other’ plan about to unfold…
So let’s start there, shall we.
Career. You see as 2016 started, I was managing 5 people locally, while balancing the workload of 2.5 people. As we had a first strategy meeting in January, with my boss’ boss, I found out that he would be my new boss and that we would be reorganizing. This would happen by March 1, with the teams being ‘regional’ support instead of tied to location, thus meaning I now managed 6 people, and 4 of which sat in another state. WHAT?! “I’m going from the frying pan, straight into the fire,” I thought, “forget my February 1 plan, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing, just no changes…” This is what I told myself as I drove home from work that day, but isn’t it funny that in those moments is sometimes when you can almost audibly hear the holy spirit speak…He said to me, ”one day at a time.” Perhaps some of you would have been so seemingly overwhelmed that the creator of the universe decided to clearly converse with you, that you would have accepted this information immediately and moved forward holding to this…well, not this ole’ stubborn gal. I proceeded to argue with God that this still wasn’t a good idea; no one wants a boss that doesn’t sit in the same office building. I pleaded my case. Argued the facts. Advised Him that this is just too ‘new age’ for this ‘old school’ girl mentality. This continued for the next 3 weeks until our wrap-up strategy meeting; have I ever mentioned I’m relentless at times?!? At least I did finally come to the point where I could pray “your will.” I still begged and pleaded for alternate paths/plans, but in the end closed my prayers with “His will be done, not mine.” And it was. And it’s great. I am the happiest I’ve been with the people and teams I get to interact with, and the opportunities that keep coming from the reorganization. This would probably be a good time to quote some notable scripture like, ‘O ye of little faith’ but my ego is still quite bruised from all my arguing and pleading.
House remodel. Since less than 10 people within 12 months thought our house was interesting enough to actually step inside, we decided to remodel. Never again. Well, that’s what I said at the time, while taking an oath never to build…but that was 9 months ago and time has a way of healing wounds… (we’ll see) Anyway, we decided to remodel our living room and kitchen, so we were bound to the back 3 bedrooms, where the master bedroom was transformed into a ‘cozy’ 1 room apartment; a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and dining room. (Cozy was the best word for that, right?). Try doing that with 2 toddlers and a husband that are home 3 out of 5 days each week and a miserable pregnant woman, who despises clutter…
As a side note, I have now switched over from indulging in live New Year’s coverage (I only like watching the 2016 highlight shows) and am now watching, you guessed it..”Friends” The one with all the resolutions…how fitting.
Last Pregnancy. So, 2016 was also bittersweet, as it held my last pregnancy…and as previously noted, I was absolutely miserable. I tried so hard to tell myself, this is the last time, enjoy every moment, every baby movement, all the attention, rubbing my hardened belly (I’m weird, I admit it), blah blah blah…but most times left me, completely ready for delivery. Sleeping was non-existent the last 4 months, my sciatica would throb daily, and delivery day was the worst of the 3…I’ll just leave it with the starting point, that it took the nurse(s) 4 tries before an IV was started…
Knud Carl Busby. But then an hour later, the baby had arrived and all was forgotten. He made our little family complete. Preparing for delivery, I had all these anticipations of visitors that would come to the hospital, but in the end, we only had one set of visitors, outside of family. While I thought I would be really bummed about this, I wasn’t. I spent the full 2.5 days holding him. The. Entire. Time. I am so grateful for those quiet days; that was our time, just the hubby, baby, and me, and it’s a treasured memory I’ll always hold dear.
Election 2016. What’s there to say really, everyone else has already said enough. (On a side note, we celebrated election night by going to have our family picture made with Santa…top that!)
Farewell for now. At the end of July, my family said farewell to a man we all held so dear; my grandfather. He was loving, and stern, and a jokster, and fun, and served Jesus with his whole being, and a Golfer, and loved The Word, and cherished his family. It was nice to see old friends and family that I hadn’t seen since I was a teen, while agreeing none of us liked the terms of what brought us together. At least we could cry, laugh, and share our fond memories of a man that left a footprint on so many lives. He left a legacy. One definition of legacy is something difficult to replace because of how widely known it is. This is grandpa; a legacy…to family, friends, his church, community…
All-in-All it was a good year comprised of: A new living space. Our family becoming to the likes of a small circus with the new addition. My last pregnancy. Ever. *sniff sniff* A department reorganization that brought joy instead of the predicted pain. A surprising election result, which apparently creates pandemonium among some Americans… My step daughter’s engagement, which I love to aggravate my hubby about (he’s sad to lose his first little girl), which he will repay me one day when the other 3 grow up. My blog start-up, which I plan to be “intentional” in 2017 to write weekly, probably starting with sharing my word for 2017… Memories that we cling to a little more tightly as we miss a loved one at the turn of this New Year. And a toast of Cherry Coke (don’t worry there’s no rum or whiskey in it). Enjoy!
#hello2017
But “working out” fitness. So far I’ve started slow. Its all about starting and forming the habit anyway, right?!? So for now I’m walking on the treadmill each morning. 12 days straight-that’s a record! #dontjudgeme
Jennifer R Salveson 