A Year Ago...

A few evenings ago, as some friends and I sat in my living room talking, each of us reflected on the changes that had occurred over the past 12 months in our individual lives. This was the second time in just a few days that the topic had arisen, so I made a list.

Here are just a few things that have changed in my life in a brief year. One year ago, I:

• was planning (what I thought would be) my last semester of graduate classes.
• was expecting to finish my M.A. in English in May 2011.
• was spending a lot of time wondering what people with two English degrees did to produce income.
• had no idea that I was about to agree to move 500 miles away for a job entirely unrelated to my degree.
• was writing a lot of idiotic things in my journal.
• was writing a lot of true things in my journal.
• never dreamed I would agree to rappel off of a cliff.
• had never made bread.
• was a lot less brave.
• had never eaten crab-cakes.
• knew a lot less about grace.
• had never lived without a mental deadline.
• didn't know that I could successfully navigate a busy weekend without electricity.

So here's to another year filled with good books, coffee, friends, unplanned adventures, grace, and lots of good stories! What surprising changes has the past year held for you?