Heading into my 30s, I decided that I wanted to create a bucket list of goals I wanted to accomplish and things that I wanted to do by the time I turned 40. You can click here to see that full list of 30 things I want to have done in my 30s. I don’t feel like I accomplished as much this year as I did last year. But it’s been an overwhelming year and I’ve been working to keep my head above water most of the time. I’m also working on the biggest goal on my list, which takes a lot of my time and energy so I’m going to count that as a win!
Can I tell you that I’ve started on this goal a handful of times since I started it? Because I have! I put a bookmark in my hymn book where I’m at, and then I don’t get back to it for a few weeks, or a couple of months, and the bookmark gets removed by kiddos and I end up starting all over again.
I had planned to train for and run a harvest 5k near me this year, and then everything got cancelled and I didn’t end up training. BUT… I’m currently training for one that I will run by myself, in an area I love near my house. So my goal is to do that before Thanksgiving!
This might be a forever-in-progress goal, but we’ve done a lot this year to finish some projects. We were able to create a playroom for the kids that they love and use regularly. And a random alcove in our living area was transformed into an office space, which has been great for everyone. Add to that all of the work that we put into our yard, and we’re making good progress!
This is the biggest goal that I started achieving this year and has taken up most of the time and effort that I would have put into other goals. It will take me two or three years, depending on how many classes I take at a time, but I’m going to achieve this huge goal that I never imagined I’d have when I was in my 20s! I’m loving my journey so far and learning so much! It’s a challenge and it’s pushing me to grow a lot as a person, professional, and educator, and it’s so, so good!
This year I set some goals for myself, and after looking at the list, I noticed an overarching theme. I decided to make my word of the year “learn”, and oh boy did I learn! I’m going to have to be careful when setting my intentions for this coming year because they manifest way bigger than I plan for them to.
My big, planned learning experience this year was grad school. I set goals to apply, get accepted, and start attending. And I followed through with that goal perfectly!
I set out to do a lot of learning and growth for this online space this year. In February, I made the daunting switch to WordPress and learned everything there is to know about that. I’ve participated in mastermind groups, and coaching groups, and taken courses to help me learn more and go further with the things that I want to do here on A Prioritized Marriage! It’s been great, and I’m looking forward to continuing to implement what I have learned to continue to grow my business and share marriage-strengthening information with all of you.
This wasn’t necessarily something I had in mind when I started this year, but it’s been something that I’ve really leaned into. I’ve been learning about myself by going to therapy, journaling more regularly, taking time to reflect on my daily experiences and a lot of other things. It has been great to connect with myself on a deeper level, the way that I strive to do with my husband and my kids and others around me.
This year I wanted to learn how to do more gluten-free baking. Since a gluten-free diet is something that Joe is going to be doing for the rest of his life, I want to be able to do it well! I’ve ventured into gluten-free treats, but need to go beyond still. I’m a lot better at making foods we would normally eat, gluten-free friendly, and I’m still working to get better at gluten-free baking, but I’ve learned a lot along the way.
Oh boy, this is not one that I saw coming or have even fully embraced. A few days into the new year, we noticed that Howie was having to search for his treats when we put them in front of him, and he was bumping into things in our house. Based on some other things we’d been noticing in his food and drink habits over the past few days, we were pretty certain he was diabetic. A visit to the vet confirmed those fears, and over the next two days, I watched my dog go blind, literally overnight. I cried A LOT because it was hard to watch and because I felt like I should have caught it sooner, but was ignoring the signs.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching and learning to manage his blood sugar levels with diet, exercise, and medication. We’ve gotten him to a healthy point, and we’re even pretty sure that he’s gotten a bit of his sight back in the last few months.
I think this is something we’ve all had to learn this year. It’s something I was not good about when this all started and honestly haven’t been good about in the past. I’ve adjusted my teaching routines for work, to help my children learn more at home, to make our birthday celebrations fun in this crazy time, etc. It’s been a big learning experience for me.
I’m excited to see what year 32 has in store for me!!!