2014...

At the beginning of last year, I had a strange thing happen.  For the last 5 or so years of my life, I have organized myself around achieving a professional goal of becoming a LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Professional) and a CDP (Chemical Dependency Professional.)  There has been lots of living in those five years as well, but of all the things in this world that there were to do, my professional goals remained in full focus.  As of late January, 2013, I had achieved both of those. I became a girl looking for direction.  Or joyful in the lack of it. I knew eventually I would develop a new driving force, but I felt a bit like a boat in the sea without an anchor, or a butterfly free of it's cocoon.

I still wanted to be a good mom to my daughter, helping her achieve her high school goals.  I wanted to be a good partner to my boyfriend, who I adored.  I had just gotten back on my dirtbike, after finally taking some time off to heal from an injury (a post I haven't yet written), and wanted to improve my skill on that.  I was loosely looking at a new job.  

As is always true in life, changes were brewing.  My boyfriend proposed. (I said yes!) I got the new job.  And I set my heart on doing a poker run.  As a new fiancee, I wanted to figure out what that meant, how to be a fiancee, to really take some time to focus on my self and my relationship, to understand what marriage meant to me, especially as it was a second marriage.  No wedding plan flurry, I just wanted to slow life down for a bit.  Professionally, there was a bit of a flurry, getting on insurance panels and talking with my beloved employer about a slow transition to my new job. And my daughter is an active participant in robotics and music, which kept many evenings full.  I also reexamined my role as a soon to be step mom to my fiancees daughter.  She and I had developed a close friendship over the past year.  We visit her every other weekend, and spent many weekends outside skiing and exploring the woods on our off road vehicles.  

The second half of the year has created a gentle rhythm, no longer newly engaged, feeling settled in the new job, our daughters senior years and eighth grade years progressing nicely.  Somewhere in there, I set my heart on a street bike.  I bought a REALLY old Ninja 250, but no amount of tinkering without significant investment was going to get it running well enough for me to learn to ride.  (If you've read the other blog entries, you'll understand that I have enough challenges with riding without an engine idling high and sending me right off the road!)  So, I resigned myself to this being a someday dream, selling that old Ninja, and simply pursuing my dirt bike riding.  The very next day, my fiancee bought me a white 2011 Ninja 250 in beautiful condition.  An early birthday and Christmas present!  (for the next three years!)  

Which shifted my goals for the year.  It was October, and a poker run had yet to fit into our every other weekend schedule in two different cities.  Instead, I set my sights on learning to ride my Ninja, and working toward my Motorcycle endorsement.

Which brings me to the beginning of 2014.  What are my goals for this year?  Well, this weekend I'm testing for my motorcycle endorsement.  In May, we are planning a lovely and simple wedding on the Hood Canal.  Following that, we want to have a two week adventure on our motorcycles down the Pacific Coast Highway.  In June, our daughters will graduate from their respective schools.  In August, my daughter will head off to her first year of college.  Following that, we have houses to sell, jobs to find, and a move to make to be closer to my step-daughter.  I'd like to do some group rides on the street, and I'd still like to complete that Poker Run goal from last year.  Resolutions? No.  But this year, life is presenting plenty of goals to accomplish, and I'm tossing in a few fun ones.