Happy 2014!

Well, it's been another busy year. I've sent another kid off to college and the third one has sent on his college applications and just has to wait for his acceptance. It's hard to believe that we'll be empty nesters in 9 months.

As usual, it has also been a year in which I had lots of plans and not as many accomplishments. I had planned to get more sewing and knitting projects finished up, and had planned to paint the entry hall and upstairs hall. I did get a few projects knitted and sewn, but for the rest, I'll just put them on this year's list. On the up side, I finished a MOOC (massive open online course) with distinction no less! I signed up for a beginning computer programming class that started in October and ran through the beginning of December. It took up a lot more time than I was expecting it to, but I was able to keep up with the work and the deadlines and do all the assignments without dropping any of my other house or professional work. This year I'm planning to use the coding I learned to write some interesting programs, like maybe one that will generate a sock knitting pattern. 

I hadn't been running as much as I'd have liked this past year. There were scheduling issues, travel, injuries, and difficulty motivating myself to make the time. I did manage to finish out the year with a good 7-mile run with my son. I must admit, I wouldn't have done it without him: he is training for the Houston marathon and wanted company for at least part of his long training run and prodded me a little bit. Turned out to be a good (albeit rather cold) New Year's Eve morning run though. I'm not even too terribly sore today.

Life is moving on but is generally good. Oldest son brought his girlfriend home for a week-long visit with us before they both travel down to her house for a week there, and from there back to school. They both have jobs waiting for them at the same company after they graduate and they will be looking for an apartment together. This is our first taste of "the next step" and so far it's looking pretty good. The girlfriend is fitting right in, with a great sense of humor and an ability to roll with all our eccentricities, and we are enjoying the visit very much. I certainly hope our other kids do this well finding someone to pair up with.

No big resolutions. I figure they will come along with the new year and best that I think them through rather than making big plans now that I can't realistically follow through with.

Wishing all of you a wonderful 2014! I hope we all continue to learn, move forward, and make and maintain good relationships this year.

Shelley in CT