Teachings of 2008

I never got my Christmas or New Year's posts up, but now that my Dad is letting me use his laptop over in Boston, I'm trying to keep up a little better.

I found this list in a notebook I took on the plane with me when I headed home for the holidays, I thought I'd share it still.

Things 2008 taught me:
*telephones are the greatest invention ever (especially when you live across the country from your family/amigos)

*I can tell a huge difference in me when I am having good scripture studies to when I am not so good at reading them and I can tell a difference in how I deal with challenges when I've been to the temple (it's true)
*The old adage is true, "it's better to have loved and lost love, then to never have loved at all"...but big breakups still suck more then anything.
*(outside my Mesa Utopian roots) Boston is the best U.S. city
*The church sociality really hands you immediate friendships
*How much God fills me when I do even a tiny bit for one of His other kids
*How to use & really appriciate public transportation on a daily basis
*How much relationships are what matter most in teaching

*That I have to make sure that I don't lose myself in looking out for someone else's interests
*How stories and songs are just waiting to be written
*How much I still need the wisdom of my parents
*How soothing a good cry and Peppermint tea can be
*How much I am strengthened by being close to people who have risen above so much in their lives
*How I really wouldn't mind marrying an apple farmer &/or vampire
*Who really, really cares about me
*How enchanting a true (New England) Autumn is
*How quick God is to forgive
*How I will always need a pair of red shoes
*How to be 'green' when it comes to grocery sacks
*More on what kind of wife/mom I want to be someday
*More on what kind of man I need for the both of us to be happy
*To always carry a little cash and my mini notebook around my 'big city'
*I really and truly hate mice/related rodents (oh, wait...I've known that for years)
*MY WEAKNESSES (I think every one of those suckers poked their head out this year)
*graduating from college isn't that big of a deal (I found myself thinking my after my last class was over, "now what?")
*How down to earth & normal professional athletes can be (I part-time nanny for a professional Hockey player here and they are such a nice family)
*How fast strangers faces can brighten into the faces of friends
*How I need to talk things out, or I'll have too many conversations going on in my head
*How amazing my sister, Carli, is (I've always known this but even more now as I've seen how she maintained her sweet, enduring temperment while Dane was away)
*How much I love living in a place with a lot of diversity of people
*How fabulous Arizona weather is
*How to hail a taxi

*That a pack of Costco toilet paper costs almost $20 (thanks Mom and Dad for all the years)

* I've seen/felt more priesthood miracles
*How I am blessed with the gift to find sincere joy for people in their joys
*How to stop and take a long walk when the weather is fine
*I am as strong as I thought I was, I'm just more fragile too
*People are good at heart (this was revisited a lot this year)

I simplifed my goals for the coming year and I am excited for what 2009 will bring. I think it will be a bridge year to the happenings of 2010 when everything that is crazy around us will start to return to normalcy. All I know is that I am okay with learning less 0f the less fun 'lessons' this year, but "come what may and love it." -Elder Wirthlin