a little bit more

I often vacillate about what to do with this space. There are days when I want to delete my blog + live entirely off-line (although not having a Facebook page or Tweeting is pretty much living off-line) + there are days when I want to go in another direction + write a whole lot more.

In these 5 1/2 years I've really revealed very little about myself. You know that I love Bruuuuuuce (who is touring in 2012- crossing my fingers for a Nashville date), that I take the trash bin to the curb every 4 months (I'm working on a 6 month goal this go-around) + that I've been slowly purging all the superfluous things from my life for the past 2 years. Oh, yeah, there's also that whole letterpress thing. You also know that this year I've experienced heartbreak of an unprecedented level, but I've also experienced moments of overwhelming love + gratitude. A psychologist co-worker said that I'm really getting to experience the amazing mystery of life.

The things I would like to share with you are that I did achieve my 2011 goal (a word I use instead of resolution) of doing something worthwhile in my community. I barely made it in under the wire, but a couple weeks ago I forced myself to get over my big fear of needles + became a registered blood donor at the local Red Cross center. It turns out that my blood type is one in which I am encouraged to also donate platelets, which I will start doing once my donor card arrives in the mail.

This was also the year I started going to church, Quaker Meetings for Worship to be more specific. Religion was not part of my upbringing, but I figured that one day I would find what worked for me. A couple years ago I had read about Quakers (which was the instigator for my moving towards simpler living + all this purging) + happened upon Cherie's blog Renaissance Garden + started reading more. In March I found out that there was a meeting house in Nashville + in November I finally got up the courage to go. During that first meeting, as tears streamed down my face, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that very moment. I have attended fairly regularly for the past 2 months + next November will decide if I want to seek membership with the Nashville Quarterly Meeting.

I have no idea where my life is headed + as I have clearly learned, life does not always work out as planned, but as the days progress, I am more + more joyful about experiencing the amazing mystery of life.

From the absolute bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who have been with me for these past months + years + wish I could give you all a big hug (another revealing thing about me: I'm a hugger).