Trying not to be a broken record

As 2013 winds to a close, I'm sitting here staring at a blank screen.  A blog, full of triumphs and tribulations, and mostly frustrations.  As I look back at the year, I'm not seeing anything particularly new or exciting to share.  We survived.  The economy is still impacting us, both actively and residually.  Diets are nothing radically different, and bumblebee is still in the throws of putting one foot in front of the other.  (Sometimes fighting the act quite valiantly.)

And I'm still depressed that I can not find safe chocolate chips in my price range.  Perhaps ever again!

On the other hand, we have an amazing garden growing at my wonderful green-thumbed mom's house.  Carrots, beets, arugula and kale...does it get any better than that?  (Oh, yes it does!)

While we are still ironing out a few kinks (our cantaloupe froze) the kids dined on roasted pumpkin tonight.  We've enjoyed zucchini soup.  Kale chips.  Beet green pilaf.  And lots and lots of tomatoes over the past year.  We're eagerly planning and looking forward to next year's crops!  (And maybe some better preservation so the bounty lasts!)

The dog is kicking me into shape.  Maybe I should say he's barking me into shape.  We take nice long walks together, and he won't let me laze out of them.  It's his job.  His passion in life.  His true purpose.  Get me moving.  Walking.  Running.  Whatever.  He just likes to go.  And he hates to go without me, because, you see...It's not him that needs the walk.  It's me, really.

My daughters...the eldest makes me proud and bittersweet happy as she grows into a lovely young woman with her own thoughts and ideas and plans that I can no longer help sway one way or the other.  She will be a force to reckon with in the world, once she's ready to be unleashed upon it.  Meanwhile, she soaks up learning like a sponge, she sharpens her skills and looks up in disbelief as the world stares at her talents in awe.
The younger makes a practice of breaking my heart.  She, too, will do great things...move mountains and raise armies and make a real difference in the world, if we can just get all of her energy focused forward and away from the anxieties that overtake her.

Someday perhaps we'll find all the answers we need for every last one of us, but in the meantime, maybe our goal isn't just to find those answers but to live without them.

Happy 2014 everyone.  May this be the year that we all find the answers we need, or the patience we need as we wait for them.