January 2019

The Happenings of January 2019

New Year’s Eve/Day has always been my favorite holiday. I love everything about it — reminiscing over the past year, wondering where we’ll be a year from now, and dreaming up goals and plans for the coming months. While the goals may or may not be accomplished, a new year always brings about fresh motivation into even the routine and ordinary aspects of my life, and I thrive on that for the first few weeks of the year.

However, this year was different. December 31 came, I watched the clock tick over into 2019, and I didn’t feel anything. Our Year in Review posts are always my favorite to write, but I procrastinated 2018’s for so long. I can’t say why, I think it was just a mixture of a lot of things. I was tired and discouraged after a challenging year. I was homesick, missing out on the holidays with family yet again. I was already looking ahead at 2019, and slightly dreading what it would bring. And I was alone, as Curtis had to work overnight that night. All that to say, it just felt like another day, and I was disappointed that the ‘new year high’ didn’t hit me as it always does.

As the month rolled on, I’d say my perspective improved and I’m now a bit more optimistic. I set goals for myself that I’m actually interested in and know I’d enjoy doing, rather than writing down vague ideas I know I won’t accomplish. My times in the Word lately have me reading passages I hadn’t meditated on in a long time, and have encouraged me to keep pressing on with an eternal mindset. We can’t change our situation right now, but I can change my outlook and know that I’m right where God wants me. I feel like I say that a lot, but it’s honestly something I need to remind myself of every day.

January seemed to go by quickly for us this year, which is probably due to Curtis working long hours every day. I’m not complaining, it certainly topped January last year when he was gone for 3 weeks. Things are changing and progressing for him at work and he has been doing very well with the various tests and drills that have been going on. I’m still living in denial that he could ever possibly leave again, which is fine, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Anyway, here’s a run down of what we did, which is the real reason why I’m writing this post!

• We binged all of “Series of Unfortunate Events” on Netflix — of course we’ve watched each season as it came out, but felt it necessary to rewatch the first 2 seasons to prolong the magic. We loved this series and especially enjoyed the choice of actors for each character.

• We went to the beach and nearby park many times and hiked Ka’iwa Ridge again…I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve been there.

• We set out one weekend morning to hike a ridge in the Southern Ko’olaus, and ended up striking out at not one, not two, but three different hikes. They were either too crowded or illegal. We ended up getting Leonard’s Malsadas to make ourselves feel better about our situation, and then returned to Koko Crater Botanical Garden, one of our favorite places on the island.

• We participated in community day for PokemonGo, playing at Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. Some days that is our main motivation for getting out of the house and doing something, and I’m not ashamed of that.

• We returned to the Manoa Cliffs Trail in Mount Tantalus area, this time bringing Charlotte along for a rainy day hike. She loved the trail, and it reminded us of how well she used to hike when we lived on the mainland. She gets so focused and determined when on the trail, compared to when we’re taking her for walks and she has to stop and sniff everything and tries to drag us around. We wish she could do more with us here!

• We visited the Honolulu Art Museum on their free day, the third Sunday of every month, and spent several hours enjoying the pieces they have on display.

• We hiked Aiea Ridge, which you can read about here!

And just like that, the first month of 2019 is gone. Time seems to pass quickly here, and right now I’m thankful for that. This month I’m choosing to focus on the things that I really love about this stage in life, and trying to remember to delight myself in the Lord on a daily basis.