“Celebrate endings — for they precede new beginnings.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie

As I contemplated writing about this past year, a heartwarming reflection was not what came to mind. To be honest about how I FELT about his year, was “blah”. However, as I looked back at the year objectively, I see my feelings need a fact check and adjustment.

Yes, there were a LOT of “not yet’s”:

The sale of a piece of property – “not yet”
A health issue put behind me once and for all – “not yet”
Getting our house prepared for its historic renovation – “not yet”
Finish And Publish Three Books – “not yet”

These were goals I had carefully written out at the beginning of the year using the SMARTER framework, a sure-fire guarantee of achieving said goals. I tackled these from several angles but the unfinishedness mocked me daily.

I prayed
I thought
I planned
I shouted, cried, and stewed

They remained unmoved. BUT…, as the famed Paul Harvey would say, here is the rest of the story.

Review And Reflections

I, in fact, had twelve goals for 2022:

2022 Personal Growth Plan contained five components:

– Read Through The Bible by December 31, 2022
– Fly Once A Month For A Minimum Of One Hour – Goal 30 Hours – December 1, 2022
– Read 25 books – two per month, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, plus The New Testament.
– Complete Constitution Alive Course by March 6, 2022
– Once a Week Gym Workout and/or Monthly PT Evaluations With A Coach

Complete Writing Three Books, One Per Quarter by September 30, 2022
Biplane Project – Complete Wings, Shop For Engine, Purchase – Plan Fuselage – December 1, 2022
Complete And Move Into 1915 Park Place – November 1, 2022
Identify The Next Three Steps For 1905 With David by March 31, 2022
Engage In Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) Advocate Activities
Sell 577 Aviator Drive – ASAP
Machine Quilt Three Quilts and Begin Denim Quilts – March 31, 2022

Bold=completed (five) Italics=significant progress (4)

I did in fact complete five of the twelve and made significant progress on four others. The three remaining had factors that were out of my direct control. (There is a risk when setting personal goals that involve others.) Then there are those pesky unforeseen issues that arise.

Reflection On Lessons Learned

For instance, I should have been able to fly the minimum 30 hours, but my plane was misbehaving, and the weather and schedules got out of sync (I am a fair skies flyer only). The mechanical issues have been addressed, so I anticipate much time with my “head in the clouds” next year.

Regarding the biplane build, yes, I fell short of my goal, but I am anything but disappointed. In fact, the upper wings are done, the upper center section is almost complete AND the ailerons, which are part of the lower wings are well underway. I have, in fact, been shopping for an engine, spending much time recovering from sticker shock each time! This goal was set with zero knowledge of the time involved. Having others who have traveled the airplane-building road has served as a reality check.

As for the book project, I did get one book finished and published. I have mentioned Give Your Story A Voice in several BLOG posts. The other two, which are outlined and in first-draft form, await my attention in 2023.

The lack of activity on the property renovations is frustrating. To be fair, we had some time-consuming set-backs in July:

the controller unit on our geothermal HVAC failed which, along with losing the HVAC, left us without well water. It was a steep, time-consuming learning curve getting it repaired/replaced.
a mishap by a tow truck in our back alley resulted in knocking over a portion of our 130-year-old retaining wall.
This, in conjunction with the city redoing all of the sewer lines in the same alley, has prolonged the repair.

Needless to say, these incidents tend to distract from the primary projects on the list!

Reflection And Celebration

Progress on my Personal Growth Plan was good, I:

was consistent with my daily exercise, completed physical therapy, and incorporated the coaching and chiropractic exercises into my daily routines. However, I only averaged going to the gym twice a month.
completed my reading plan and the Constitution Alive course. BTW, I highly recommend the latter to all!

The machine quilting yielded not only a new skill, but four completed quilts and three large denim throw pillows. Two of the three quilts completed quilt tops had been assembled by my maternal grandmother. It was exciting to rescue them from storage.

The MAF activities started out rather ho-hum but ramped up as the year went on. There are some exciting things coming in just a few weeks!

Reflection – Fun Trips

In July we traveled to the mountains of Colorado for a reunion of David’s mother’s clan. It was very refreshing to see everyone again.

In October, we traveled to the upper midwest to see the fall colors and to participate in the book launch of Heart In Tatters by the Michigan Civil War Association. The book is about my husband’s great great great maternal grandmother Eunice Hunt Tripler. Dr. Dave contributed to some of the material and assisted the author with proofreading.

In December Dr. Dave traveled to Kentucky for a surprise visit to family who were unable to make the July gathering.

Other Reflection

Dr. David is teaching at two schools, Northfield School of the Liberal Arts and Concordia Academy Wichita. He teaches almost anything they need but is imparting math, physics, and algebra as well as poetry and composition. The latter centered on capturing family stories allowing me to assist with sharing my process for this endeavor.

I continue as the chairperson of the Community Advisory Board for PBS Kansas and serve on the Board of the local Experimental Aircraft Association.

We are down to three cats, Flywire and Strut (both 18) and Maggie, who is 12. We said goodbye to Flaps at 21 years of age in September.

Forward Reflection To 2023

Thus 2022 was not as “blah” as it seemed! Taking time to reflect and look at the big picture has a way of putting things into perspective. I suggest that, as this new year emerges, you take time to do an honest inventory of the year.

As you do so, make notes of the stories you would like to give voice to. Use the FREE Five Legacy Stories PDF as an outline. To go further, my Give Your Story a Voice workbook can help. Please comment or ask questions in the comments or email me at nhcullen@cfaith.com

This coming week I will be looking at the coming year. This time of reflection has given me a place from which to launch fresh goals and new stories to share. I look forward to my weekly time with you as well.