Day 17

The Year 2011

January was dreary for me, the start of it at least. I had no resolutions, no goals, no ambitions, and the weather had smacked me full upside the head. I was (and have continued through the year) working part time at Harborview and miserable there. I was going to an energy-worker to try to sort myself out, and was a mess. Then January 6th happened, and everything turned around. I had found my storefront, and it was for lease.

February 15th was our grand opening. Krysteen and I worked hard to get the two shops ready for clients. I didn't have time to worry about myself, and I didn't have the energy to mope. I had a shop, and it was coming together, and my dream of having a location where people could come to me and get hennaed, and I could work on my art was coming true. This took up a lot of my time for the next few months, organizing, advertising, and hoping for the best.

March I got to go to Hawaii for the first time! It was beautiful, and a memory that will be held close to my heart forever. I went snorkeled beside a turtle, walked along the top of a volcano, saw the spirits of the dead rise to the heavens, and cheered to a baby whale only a few days old. I helped Rosemary prepare the most amazing food, and thoroughly enjoyed the company of my husband and my in-laws. It was a precious 10 days.

April I spent as much time as I could in Olympia on my parents farm. They had planted the trees while I was gone, but there was still much to do, not only on the field, but also around the house and garden and shed. When I wasn't there with my parents and Dan (who learned how to drive the tractor) I was gearing up for my festival season, approaching very rapidly.

In May Dan graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters in Statistics! He's a smart smart man. Over the rest of the year he started using his new degree not only in his existing positions, but the department of radiology created a position for him as a resident statistician! He's been learning how to build himself a clientele, and has been unbelievably happy!

May - September was Festival Season, kicked off by the University Street Fair, ending with the Northgate Family Festival. This year I promised not to do any festival where I couldn't do henna, and it payed off very nicely. The takes were good (I had a record breaking day at Mountlake Terrace) and the season went very smoothly. Of course, Laurie was invaluable at all of the festivals, and I was very grateful for her help. In between festivals I still had to work at the shop, (and at Harborview) and help on the farm. I also was doing a lot of parties and projects in my Magic Magpie cloak, like painting the floor of a new Mexican restaurant on Queen Anne. Needless to say, I was busy.

In October I started really getting ready for my annual show at Makeda Coffee, which is when I try something new for my art and my soul. This time around it was using real henna to stain wood and skin (tambourines). I also got to spend a little quality time with my mother in law, where we spent most of a weekend sewing (and talking.) Then, at the end of the month, I started helping my parents with a very big and momentous event.

On November 10th my father had his second bone marrow transplant. In the weeks leading up to that, and in the first week after the "day 0" my parents lived with Dan and I in our small house. It was actually fun, although it was hard on account of there being 4 people and 2 cats in 900 square feet of space. They moved to a couple different apartments over the next couple months, but I still regularly helped take care of my dad, to relieve my mother so she could have some time to work, or go down to the farm and take care of things down there. This whole experience was stressful for me (I mean, it was stressful for everyone of course), and by the end of the year I feel I'm back to where I was last year, emotionally.

Looking back over the whole year, though, I see a big curve. Really a circle, but because the new year cuts the circle cleanly, I see it more as a curve. I'm glad I spent the time here to write it all down, although I remember it all, it's nice to see it lined up like this. It gives me a "things are going to get better" kind of feeling, remembering how miserable I was last January, and feeling the same way now, but remembering also how busy and happy I was in the summer.

So "Happy New Year" to me. Happy and Joyful and Peaceful and Kind. I need more of that now, coming FROM me, because I have lots of it coming TO me all the time. I have really supportive friends and family, and lots of good things about me in my life. I just have to sit and remember that, every once in a while, and the eve of the new year is a good time to do it. Peace.